IN KENSINGTON GARDENS 401 



one of these birds — perhaps the same one — was 

 reported to have been seen by a different corre- 

 spondent, while a third observer reported one in 

 Holland Park. That woodpeckers are not visible 

 more frequently is due perhaps to their peculiar 

 habit of dodging round the far side of a tree at the 

 approach of an intruder, and on this account it is 

 remarkable how difficult it is to catch sight of one 

 even in wooded parts of the country where they are 

 perhaps not uncommon. 



The Nuthatch also is almost as clever in keep- 

 ing out of sight, but its loud twittering note often 

 betrays it, and the writer has several times heard 

 and seen it in Kensington Gardens. Tits of two 

 kinds are tolerably common there, and apparently 

 resident throughout the year. These are the Coal 

 Tit and the Blue Tit — the former sombre enough 

 at all times, the latter looking very soot-begrimed 

 from contact with the smoked branches of the 

 London trees, so different from the brightly- 

 coloured tits one meets with in the country. 

 Doubtless they find convenient nesting-places in 

 holes in some of the old trees, many of which are 

 tenanted by Starlings, which are almost always to 

 be seen in the gardens. 



Amongst other small birds, the Chaffinch is most 

 conspicuous here, although it cannot be called 

 common, and disappears in the winter. It is 

 perhaps commonest in spring, when its loud song 

 is heard, and the flash of white in its wings attracts 

 attention as it springs up from the foot of some 

 old tree at our approach. 

 2 c 



