BIRD-LIFE IN KENSINGTON GARDENS 



To the naturalist who is cooped up in London for 

 many months in the year it is sometimes refresh- 

 ing to take an early morning walk through one of 

 the London parks and study what little bit of 

 nature still remains in the heart of a great city. 

 It is still possible to find spots here and there 

 which are entirely out of sight of houses, and 

 where, walking on green turf and looking upward 

 through the branches of venerable elms or plane 

 trees, one gets a glimpse of country sky, and hears 

 now and then the note of some country bird, a 

 temporary sojourner like oneself in London. 



Nowhere, perhaps, is this little bit of rus in urbe 

 more striking than in Kensington Gardens. Here 

 may be found some really charming glades, bordered 

 by fine old trees, which in summer cast a grateful 

 shade over the turf below. The enjoyment to be 

 derived from a contemplation of these glades will 

 depend upon the time of year at which we walk 

 there. If we select the season when rooks with 

 noisy "caws" are busy gathering sticks to repair 

 their old nests, and the spring notes of thrushes, 

 blackbirds, and tits fall pleasantly upon the ear, we 

 may fancy ourselves miles away in the country, 

 instead of in the very middle of London. It would 

 be difficult to say how many species of birds may 



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