THE BIRDS AND THE BOOK 3 



very big town, a ' province covered with houses ' ; 

 but for the ornithologist where, on any side, 

 does the province end ? Does it end five miles 

 south of Charing Cross, at Sydenham, or ten miles 

 further afield, at Downe ? Or, looking north, do 

 we draw the line at Hampstead, or Aldenham ? 

 The whole metropolitan area has, let us say, a 

 circumference of about ninety miles, and within 

 its outermost irregular boundary there is room 

 for half a dozen concentric lines, each of which 

 will contain a London, differing greatly in size 

 and, in a much less degree, in character. If the 

 list be made to include all the birds found in 

 such rural and even wild places — woods, thickets, 

 heaths, and marshes — as exist within a sixteen- 

 mile radius, it is clear that most of the inland 

 species found in the counties of Kent, Surrey, 

 Middlesex, Hertfordshire, and Essex would be 

 in it. 



The fact is, in drawing up a list of London 

 birds, the writer can, within limits, make it as 

 long or short as he thinks proper. Thus, if he 

 wishes to have a long list, and is partial to 

 round numbers, he will be able to get a century 

 of species by making his own twelve or thirteen 

 mile radius. Should he then alter his mind, 



B 2 



