^ ...THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 



, < A * " N 



and the most elementary facts concerning food, migra- 

 tion, and so forth are woefully inaccurate. So far as 

 London is concerned, there are plenty of common birds 

 found in the vicinity of most of the Council schools 

 which might and should serve as object-lessons and as 

 capital examples for teaching the rudiments of ornitho- 

 logy. The opportunity in most cases is lost. At the 

 end of the present chapter I propose to offer a few 

 suggestions for the " Nature-study " of birds in the 

 London schools. 



The Bird-life of London presents a most fascinating 

 study to any one who cares to pursue it. A lifetime 

 among the birds may be profitably spent well within the 

 fifteen-mile radius. Not only do the residents and 

 regular migrants offer scope for endless study, but the 

 casual visitors are a source of great interest in themselves. 

 Migration, that fascinating drama of the air, may be 

 investigated with profit. The study of birds within the 

 Metropolis offers a field of research absolutely denied to 

 the ornithologist in more rural surroundings. This is in 

 relation to the ways of birds under more or less abnormal 

 conditions, which illustrate in a wonderful manner their 

 adaptability to novel circumstances. Some species, as 

 we know, have been banished from London ; others, 

 more adaptable, have maintained their existence through 

 the changing years ; others yet again have even invaded 

 the Great City and established themselves in a most 

 remarkable way. As time goes on there seems to be 

 every probability that more species will also succeed in 

 doing so. Time was, as we know by old records, when the 

 Kite was almost as familiar in London's streets as the 

 Sparrow is now, and the work of the modern scavenger 

 was largely left to this useful species, as it is to-day in 

 many Southern towns. The Swifts used to circle and 

 glide over what are now the densest parts of the city ; 

 the Martins and Swallows used to thread the narrow 



