164 BIRDS IN LONDON 



prefer to roost and nest in are too few. It 

 would make a wonderful difference if in place of 

 so many unsuitable exotic shrubs (especially of 

 the ugly, dreary-looking rhododendron) we had 

 more of the always pleasing yew and holly ; also 

 furze and bramble ; with other native plants to 

 be found in any country hedge, massed together 

 in that charming disorder which men as well as 

 birds prefer, although the gardeners do not 

 know it. There are several spots in Kensington 

 Gardens where masses of evergreens would look 

 well and would form welcome refuges to scores 

 of shy songsters. 



The more or less open ground north of the 

 Flower Walk forms a deep well-sheltered hollow, 

 where it would be easy to create a small pond 

 with rushes and osiers growing in it, which 

 would be very attractive to the birds. It, would 

 be easy to make a spot in every park in London 

 where the sedge-warbler could breed. 



Another very much needed improvement is 

 an island in the Serpentine, which would serve 

 to attract wild birds. The Serpentine is by a 

 good deal the largest of the artificial lakes of inner 

 London, yet with the exception of a couple of 

 moorhens, and in winter a stray ^ull or two 



