1880.] English Birds compared with American. 56E 
ENGLISH BIRDS COMPARED WITH AMERICAN: 
BY H. D. MINOT, 
ROM April 22d to September 9, 1879, except for a fortnight 
in Scotland, I was in England, passing through all but two 
of her forty counties, and in many of them staying long enough 
to study their natural history attentively. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, there were so many other objects of absorbing interest, that 
I did not become so familiar with the birds as would have been 
pleasant, and I often was obliged to slight their most attractive 
invitations. 
To compare English birds with ours, I have no hesitation in 
saying that they are less abundant; but, on the other hand, in 
spite of extensive wild lands, their companionship is more readily 
obtained, and the naturalist need not seek for birds so often as he 
must here; for the respect and consideration shown them there, 
give some of them, at times, almost a social ease with man. They 
are not free, of course, from school-boys and human enemies of 
other kinds (especially are the song-birds persecuted by profes- 
sional bird-catchers) ; but*the public at large are more reasonable 
in their instincts and customs than the free and thoughtless 
American, who must fire his gun whenever he gets a chance, 
regardless of all true interests concerned. This I can illustrate 
rom my journal and recollections. To the unforewarned there 
is a curious disappointment in traversing the great English 
“forests,” so called, where trees are an unimpressive or absent fea- 
ture; but, for my disappointment in the “ New Forest,” I was 
compensated by my pleasure in Ringwood, a delightful little vil- 
lage of Hampshire, on one of the rivers Avon, near the South 
coast. There, on one of those rare and pale moonlight evenings, 
which in England last summer were almost legendary, as I stood 
on the village-bridge, looking over the broad meadows, I was sur- 
prised to find both moorhens and wild mallard nesting undis- 
turbed, within not many rods, and making themselves quite pub- 
lic. The home-naturalist of the place told me that in former 
years a few of their eggs might have been taken, but that he be- 
lieved they were never shot there in their breeding-season. 
Among a people notorious for their love of sport, this sensible 
respect for law and nature is of the highest value. From this 
Single circumstance we might judge too favorably; but there is 
