404 ENGLISH BIRD-LIFE 



ing of Skylarks throughout the long English day. 



Prom Salisbury, I went to Oxford and thence to Strat- 

 ford and Warwick, and in each place the bird student may 

 pursue his investigations amid charming surroundings. Of 

 the coincident historical and literary associations, it is un- 

 necessary to speak. 



At Oxford, Addison's Walk, in the grounds about Mag- 

 dalene College, give the stranger access to most attractive 

 and secluded retreats ; while at Warwick he is permitted a 

 near view of a castle which will show him Jackdaws, Eooks, 

 Starlings, and Wood Doves in the setting where literature 

 so frequently places them. 



At Stratford, he may sit in the churchyard and see the 

 Eooks at their nests overhead while the Moorhens disport 

 themselves in rushes of the bordering Avon; and if he will 

 cross the river and follow the north shore about half a mile, 

 he will come to a fringe of woodland on a bank so steep, that 

 the tops of trees growing from the shore below, will be on a 

 level with his head. From the narrow, picturesque path- 

 way, one therefore has the upper branches within reach of 

 one hand, while with the other he may touch the lower 

 growth, conditions which bring a rather unusual assemblage 

 of birds within easy range. 



Here, on a rainy morning (June 11), I saw in "one 

 look, ' ' a Nightingale with food for her young, Bullfinch, 

 Song Thrush, Willow Wren, Wren, White-throat, Hedge 

 Sparrow, Chaffinch, Blue-tit, Long-tail Tit, Spotted Fly- 

 catcher, Blackcap, Blackbird, and Chiff-chaff. Swallows, 

 House and Bank Martins and Swifts were constantly clash- 

 ing up and down over the river, and from near-by rolling 

 fields came the song of the Skylark, a total of nineteen spe- 

 cies seen or heard at virtually the same moment. 



Under no circumstances should the bird-lover leave Eng- 

 land without a visit to some point on the coast or near-by 

 islets frequented by nesting Murres, Puffins and Razor-bills. 

 Doubtless in no part of the world can he so easily reach the 



