160 BIEDS IN LONDON 



and are restricted to the gardens, where they 

 may be seen, four or five together, on the high 

 elms or clinging to the pendent twigs of the 

 birches. The blackbird and song- thrush have 

 also fallen very low ; I do not believe that there 

 are more than two dozen of these common birds 

 in all this area of seven hundred and fifty acres. 

 A larger number could be found in one corner 

 of Finsbury Park. Finsbury and Battersea 

 could each send a dozen or two of songsters as 

 a gift to the royal West-end parks, and not miss 

 their music. 



Of all these vanishing species the thrush is 

 most to be regretted, on account of its beautiful, 

 varied, and powerful voice, for in so noisy an 

 atmosphere as that of London loudness is a very 

 great merit ; also because (in London) this bird 

 sings very nearly all the year round. Even at 

 the present time how much these few remaining 

 birds are to us ! From one to. two decades ago 

 it was possible on any calm mild day in winter 

 to listen to half a dozen thrushes singing at 

 various points in the gardens ; now it is very 

 rare to hear more than one, and during the 

 exceedingly mild winter of 1896-7 I never 

 heard more than two. Even these few birds 



