BIRDS IN LONDON 275 



sparrows, the dove to his surprise flew down 

 from the tree and alighted on his arm. 



In autumn the birds, as their habit is, fell 

 upon and devoured the acorns and most of the 

 wild fruit in the parks, as it ripened. On the 

 island at the east end of St. James's Park there 

 is a good-sized and very handsome beam-tree, 

 which was laden with clusters of beautiful 

 orange-coloured fruit. The wood-pigeons have 

 discovered that this fruit is very nice, and they 

 flocked to the tree in numbers to feast on it; 

 but the long slender boughs, bent down with the 

 weight of the ferminal bunches of fruit, made it 

 impossible for them to perch in the usual way to 

 feed ; and they were forced to suspend them- 

 selves heads down, Uke parrots or tits, while 

 picking the berries. A prettier or stranger sight 

 than this tree, laden with its brilhantly coloured 

 fruit, and a score or two of dove -acrobats 

 clinging to its drooping branches, could not well 

 be imagined. 



Doubtless a good many of the birds get killed 

 when they are away from town in the autumn ; 

 but not too many, since they return in consider- 

 able numbers in the early winter. Before very 



