MOOR-HENS IN HYDE PARK 163 



sight of many people going to and fro S* Are there no 

 silent green retreats left where the conditions are 

 better suited to their shy and delicate natures ^ 

 Yet no sooner is the spring come again than the 

 birds are with us. Not always apparent to the eye, 

 but everywhere their irrepressible gladness betrays 

 their proximity; and all London is ringed round 

 with a mist of melody, which presses on us, ambitious 

 of winning its way even to the central heart of our 

 citadel, creeping in, mist-like, along gardens and 

 tree-planted roads, clinging to the greenery of parks 

 and squares, and floating above the dull noises of 

 the town as clouds fleecy and ethereal float above 

 the earth. 



Among our spring visitors there is one which is 

 neither aerial in habits nor a melodist, yet is emin- 

 ently attractive on account of its graceful form, 

 pretty plumage, and amusing manners ; nor must 

 it be omitted as a point in its favour that it is not 

 afraid to make itself very much at home with us in 

 London.^ This is the little moor-hen, a bird possess- 

 ing some strange customs, for which those who are 

 curious about such matters may consult its numerous 

 biographies. Every spring a few individuals of this 

 species make their appearance in Hyde Park, and 



• Note that when this was written in 1893 the moor-hen was 

 never known to winter in London ; his habits have changed in this 

 respect during the last two decades: he is now a permanent 

 resident. 

 L 



