SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



19 



Birds in London. By W. H. Hudson, F.Z.S. 

 339 PP- royal 8vo, illustrated by 17 plates and 15 

 illustrations in text. (London, New York and 

 Bombay : Longmans, Green and Co., 1898.) 12s. 



This beautifully produced book will gladden the 

 heart of many a lover of nature who has few 

 opportunities of taking extended rambles in 

 the wilder country beyond suburban London. 

 It will show such lovers of bird life that a 

 closer attention to the feathered denizens of the 

 metropolitan district will often reveal unexpected 

 and welcome strangers. Mr. Hudson, whose 

 name is well known in association with ornitho- 

 logical studies in 

 towns, has plea- 

 santly written a 



most entertaining - < ' ' 



and suggestive 

 work on urban M 



bird lore. It is 

 indeed astonish- 

 ing what a fine 

 observing ground / 



is the metro- 

 politan district 

 for naturalists. 

 Whether they 

 be ornithologists, 

 entomologists, or 

 what not, the 

 County of Lon- 

 don contains no 

 end of living re- 

 presentatives to 

 incite their in- 

 terest. If we 

 search through 

 the magazines 

 devoted to natu- 

 ral science during 

 the past half 

 century we shall 

 find therein re- 

 corded many rare 

 birds moths, and 

 plants which 

 have been found 

 within a five-mile 

 radius of Charing 

 Cross. It is need- 

 less to point out 

 that some of 

 these are strag- 

 glers, and not 

 permanent deni- 

 zens, but that 

 makes them 

 none the less in- 

 teresting. There 

 are nevertheless 

 some wild birds, 



shy enough in the country, which are losing their 

 timidity when visiting or residing within the sound of 

 " Bow Bells." Among the more timid are the wood 

 pigeons and the field-fares, the latter in recent 

 years being frequently seen in the harder winters. 

 By permission of the publishers, and as an example 

 of the beautiful illustrations in this work, we re- 

 produce the picture of these birds by A. D. 

 McCormick, who, with Bryan Hook, has produced 

 a picturesque series of plates and vignettes. In 

 addition to these there are photographs from nature 

 by that celebrated bird photographer, R. B. Lodge. 

 The Local Government Act which created the 



Fieldfares at th 

 (From Hudson's ' 



County of London, with its ruling County Council, 

 was an unforeseen benefit to London naturalists, for 

 it extended the area which could be included in such 

 a work as this before us, and better still, gave the 

 much needed power for the protection of birds 

 against the slinking bird-catcher or the cockney 

 sportsman. In writing this book Mr. Hudson has 

 succeeded in compiling much pleasantly-written 

 bird lore which will appeal to a large audience 

 beyond the narrower realm of ornithologists. 

 Some of his instances are indeed quite startling 

 to the professional bird student, though the 

 adaptation of wild birds to men's civilization has 



ceased to be as- 

 tonishing. We 

 have ourselves 

 noted within the 

 '..---.. last few years a 



pair of redstarts 

 which built a 

 nest and suc- 

 cessfully reared 

 a brood of young 

 in the Embank- 

 ment gardens, 

 at the ancient 

 water-gate by the 

 end of Bucking- 

 ham Street, 

 Strand. Not less 



/remarkable was 

 ,\, I a case we ob- 



served of a night- 

 ingale that sang 

 daily for more 

 than a week in 

 some lilac bushes 

 in Whitehall 

 Gardens, nearly 

 opposite the 

 Horse Guards. 

 During the past 

 winter, one Sun- 

 day afternoon, we 

 saw a magpie 

 feeding uncon- 

 cernedly among 

 a number of 

 wood-pigeons, 

 within twenty 

 yards of a 

 crowded path in 

 St. James's Park. 

 It need not, there- 

 fore, surprise the 

 uninitiated if any 

 bird should be 

 unexpecte dl y 

 seen. Taking 

 Mr. Hudson's 

 book as a guide, 

 the observation of birds in the County of London 

 will form a charming recreation for many who 

 are not professedly ornithologists. 



Caradoc and Severn Valley Field Club Transactions 

 for 1897. 8 8 PP- large 8vo. (Shrewsbury, 1898.) 



The "Transactions" of this society indicate con- 

 siderable activity among the members. The work 

 of the year included numerous meetings, when 

 many exhibits were presented and useful papers 

 read and discussed. The titles of some of these 

 were "Protective Mimicry in Insects," "The 

 Severn," " The Study of Mosses," " Our Wild 

 Birds," "Coal Mining," " Theories of the Origin 



e Tower of London 

 'Birds in London.") 



