NATURE NEAR LONDON 



tractive flavour ; or is it because they are large ? 

 There are more crows round London than in a whole 

 county, where the absence of manufactures and 

 the rural quiet would seem favourable to bird life. 

 The reason, of course, is that in the country the 

 crows frequenting woods are shot and kept down 

 as much as possible by gamekeepers. 



In the immediate environs of London keepers 

 are not about, and even a little further away the 

 land is held by many small owners, and game 

 preservation is not thought of. The numerous 

 pieces of waste ground, " to let on building lease," 

 the excavated ground, where rubbish can be thrown, 

 the refuse and ash heaps these are the haunts 

 of the London crow. Suburban railway stations 

 are often haunted by crows, which perch on the 

 telegraph wires close to the back windows of the 

 houses that abut upon the metals. There they sit, 

 grave and undisturbed by the noisy engines which 

 pass beneath them. 



In the shrubberies around villa gardens, or in the 

 hedges of the small paddocks attached, thrushes 

 and other birds sometimes build their nests. The 

 children of the household watch the progress of 

 the nest, and note the appearance of the eggs with 

 delight. Their friends of larger growth visit the 

 spot occasionally, and orders are given that the 

 birds shall be protected, the gardeners become 



