BIRDS FOB LONDON 313 



London — peregrine falcon, kestrel, and kite — 

 will ever return, but we could have these birds 

 by rearing them by hand from the nest, and 

 allowing them to be unconfined. If well and 

 regularly fed they would remain where they were 

 reared, or if they went away for a season they 

 would most probably return. It would be a 

 great pleasure to see them soaring above or 

 about our buildings, and they would also be 

 useful in keeping down the domestic pigeons, 

 which are now much too numerous and are fast 

 becoming a nuisance in some of the parks, where 

 they devour the food originally intended for the 

 wood-pigeons. The domestic pigeons have a 

 pretty appearance at St. Paul's Cathedral, West- 

 minster Palace, and other large public buildings ; 

 in the grassy parks they are out of place and do 

 not look well ; furthermore, when we find most, 

 if not all, of these park-haunting birds come from 

 big private houses in the neighbourhood, where 

 they are bred for the table, it is surprising- that 

 the park authorities should continue to feed 

 them at the public expense. Let us hope that 

 this abuse will soon be put an end to ; also that 

 it will be recognised by the authorities that it is 

 a mistake to keep' dovecots in the public parks. 



