322 BIRDS IN LONDON 



warbler, chiffchaff, willow-wren, wood-wren, 

 sedge-warbler, reed-warbler, pied wagtail, and 

 tree-pipit. All these species, excepting the wood- 

 wren, visit the open spaces of inner London on 

 migration in spring. The chats, redstart, and 

 tree-pipit are much rarer than the others ; but of 

 the fourteen species named, at least eight can be 

 seen or heard by any person who cares to spend 

 two or three days in the parks, to watch and listen 

 to the birds, after the middle of April. This list 

 is limited to the species which I have no doubt 

 would breed in the parks if encouraged ; the three 

 species of swallows, the wheatear, yellow wagtail, 

 and other summer visitants are also seen in April 

 in London, but these are simply passing through. 

 The kingfisher, singly and in pairs, has been 

 a rather frequent visitor to the parks during the 

 last two years, and in some instances has made 

 a long stay : there is no doubt that the abundance 

 of minnows in the ornamental waters and the 

 shelter of the wooded islands are a great attrac- 

 tion. No instance of its attempting to breed 

 has yet occurred, but this may be due to the 

 want of a suitable place to nest in. It is possible 

 that the noise of the Saturday and Sunday 

 boating people in the larger lakes, and the 



