118 BIRDS IN LONDON 



journey of at least four miles ; and the grubs 

 would certainly be very much more difficult to 

 find on the trodden sward of Hyde Park than 

 in a country meadow. I pitied these brave 

 birds every day, when I watched them from my 

 turret window, going and coming, and at the 

 same time I rejoiced to think that this pair, and 

 hundreds of other pairs with nests just as far 

 from their scanty feeding-grounds, were yet 

 able to rear their young each season in London. 

 For the starling is really a splendid bird as 

 birds are with us in this distant northern land- 

 splendid in his spangled glossy dress of metallic 

 purple, green, and bronze, a singer it is always 

 pleasant to listen to, a flyer in armies and 

 crowds whose aerial evolutions in autumn and 

 winter, before settling to roost each evening, 

 have long been the wonder and admiration of 

 mankind. He inhabits London all the year 

 round, but not in the same numbers : in the 

 next chapter more will be said on this point. 

 He also sings throughout the year ; on any 

 autumn or winter day a small company or flock 

 of a dozen or two of birds may be found in any 

 park containing large trees, and it is a delight 

 that never grows stale to listen to the musical 



