196 BIRDS 



make out a mere catalogue of birds' names, how- 

 ever, but to point out the salient features of a few 

 species of birds which nest within the London area. 

 Pride of place should perhaps be accorded to the 

 London Pigeons, and although there are a number 

 of mongrel breeds tenanting St. Paul's Cathedral, 

 the Guildhall, the British Museum, the National 

 Gallery, and other public buildings, it is to the 

 wild Wood Pigeon, or Ring Dove, that I wish to 

 devote attention. Few people seem to realise that 

 this purely wild bird of the greenwood makes its 

 nest and rears its young within the busy hum of 

 London's streets. It is a remarkable fact that 

 such a recluse and timid bird, such a typical 

 example of a thoroughly wild bird, should of its 

 own accord leave its fastnesses in the greenwood 

 and migrate to the Metropolis. Of all my country 

 bird friends, the Ring Dove is one of the most 

 timid and restless. How comes it, then, that this 

 species should forsake its country haunts, journey 

 to London, and make its home there ? Something 

 must of necessity attract the bird, but what that 

 something is I have never yet been able to dis- 

 cover. For some years a pair of these birds have 

 reared a brood in the well-known plane tree off 

 Cheapside. Much store is set upon this remnant 

 of arboriculture in the heart of the City, and I 

 remember a few years ago noticing the great 

 amount of interest that was taken when the afore- 



