BIRDS FOR LONDON 315 



mistake ; for assuming that the birds really were 

 wild, it is probable that after going away for the 

 winter they would have returned, and might 

 even have brought some of their wild fellows. 

 I believe that our ornamental water-fowl ought 

 never to be pinioned except in the cases of a 

 few rare exotic species. When a bird is 

 pinioned its chief beauty and greatest charm 

 are lost ; it is then little more than a domestic 

 bird, or a bird in a cage. Sheldrakes, both 

 common and ruddy, are infinitely more beautiful 

 when flying than when resting on the water ; 

 and all wild ducks are seen at their best when, 

 before alighting, they sweep along close to the 

 surface, with wings motionless and depressed, 

 showing the bright beauty-spot. There are, in 

 fact, many unpinioned fowls on the park waters, 

 and some of these birds not only fly about their 

 own ponds, but they occasionally visit the 

 waters of other parks, especially by night, and 

 are well able to find their way back to their 

 own ponds. In some cases they make prolonged 

 visits to other parks. In one London park for 

 the last three years a number of tufted ducks 

 (from eight to a dozen) have made their appear- 

 ance on the ornamental water each spring, and 



