3 
heavy black form seen as he slowly wings his way from tree to 
tree, But he is most abundant in the winter, when he is more 
than at Ue seasons a river-side bird. 
One evening during the spell ne ev cold in February, 1902, 
I stood foran hour in the Queen's Cottage Grounds watching a 
mixed gathering of birds on the piris edge of the river between 
the Gardensand Syon Park. Besides small birds, mostly blackbirds 
and song-thrushes, there were in the crowd twenty-one black- 
[n ed crow, moor Most of the crows were 
very busy just before sunset searching in the mud for something 
e n the shallow water, prodding the mud an 
out half-buried old rags and weeds and turning them 
over. It wasastrange bird-gathering to see at a spot so near to 
London, but the thirty-two crows er in ae Ea: were not 
all the birds of that species at the spot. Other S caring fra from 
the trees among which I stood, and a little dien up stre: 
could see a second gathering SOHADOMe sed of about cT 
common crows and one hooded crow. 
It may be mentioned that the heron and carrion crow are the 
two ro wild birds that survive as breeding species in the home 
counties. The herons which -— close by in Richmond Park 
are constant visitors to Kew 
Another interesting point to be ed relates to mp local habits 
and movements of the Kew birds. Thus, the green woodpecker 
is fav aati haunt in the tall trees to the right “of the Queen’s 
Cottage, where his drumming and “loud laugh” may be heard 
throughout the summer. There, too, the jays are seen and their 
woodlan e d o 
Of the summer migrants the tree-pipit, lesser whitethroat, and 
sedge warbler return year after year to the same tree, bush, an 
cluster of reeds. Even so common and universal a species as the 
chaffinch has the habit of uniting in small parties and flocks at 
one spot, a little to the west of the temperate house. This house 
itself has now become the home of a number of birds—robins, 
hedge 
an ddr life. The most interesting species in this connexion is 
the pied wagtail. Several pairs breed annually in the gardens, 
but in winter the local birds are joined by a iria of others 
congregate in September, the number v varying in di fferen 
from about 75 to about 150, and they roost — at ebd spot 
until Spring w ne in March reaks up the company. 
into their green safe shelter. Probably but for this ideal tiny 
roosting-place most of these birds would migrate in winter, 
It remains to speak of one other fact, perhaps the most ae di 
esting of all—the large proportion of songsters among the speci 
13757 A2 
