174 BIRDS IN LONDON 



shrubs, and luxuriant ivy and creepers give it 

 a country-like aspect. This pleasant green 

 character is maintained until Hampstead Heath 

 and the country proper is reached, and over this 

 rural stretch of North-west London the birds 

 come and go freely between the country and 

 Eegent's Park. This large space should be 

 exceedingly attractive to all such birds as are 

 not intolerant of a clay soil. There are exten- 

 sive green spaces, a good deal of wood, and 

 numerous large shrubberies, which are more 

 suitable for birds to find shelter and breed in 

 than the shrubberies in the central parks. There 

 is also a large piece of ornamental water, with 

 islands, and, better still, the Eegent's Canal 

 running for a distance of nearly one mile 

 through the park. The steeply sloping banks 

 on one side, clothed with rank grass and shrubs 

 and crowned with large unmutilated trees, give 

 this water the appearance of a river in the 

 country, and it is, indeed, along the canal 

 where birds are always most abundant, and 

 where the finest melody may be heard. All 

 these advantages should make Eegent's Park as 

 rich in varied bird life as any open space in the 

 metropolis. Unfortunately the birds are not 



