NOTES ON LONDON BIRDS. 47 
politan islands ; they roost in the same way in Battersea and St. 
James’ parks. 
On April 10, after searching daily for some time, I was glad 
to discover that the poor persecuted crows had built a nest in 
Kensington Gardens, and no doubt it contained eggs, for one of 
the birds was sitting. I cannot, however, say that I saw any 
young birds, although I kept a look-out for them during the 
summer. On April 9 my sister heard a willow-wren and saw 
a swallow in Kensington Gardens. On the 24th I noticed the 
first brood of young ducks on the Serpentine. On the 26th, a 
bright Sunday morning, I was in the Gardens before breakfast 
and found the lesser whitethroat, blackcap, and willow-wren, 
and the same day heard a chiff-chaff. There was a common 
whitethroat in Kensington Gardens on May 8, and a reed 
warbler on the following day. Spotted flycatchers appeared on 
May II, a few pairs of these birds spent the summer with us as 
usual, and I saw them up to the end of August when I left town 
for a holiday. On May 27 a cuckoo was reported to me from 
Holland Park, and one— probably the same bird — was heard 
from Earls Terrace, Kensington, on the 31st. 
Unfortunately, the rooks did not nest in Connaught Square 
in 1896. June and July were very hot, and I did not come 
across anything of ornithological interest in London during 
these months. 
On August 3 I heard a blackcap singing a few notes near 
the Magazine and two willow-wrens in Kensington Gardens. 
There seemed to be an influx of this species about this time, for 
on the 4th I heard about a dozen willow-wrens all in song, and 
on the 20th three were singing at the same time. 
On August 21 I noticed a linnet in Hyde Park. On the 
25th there were about a dozen sand-martins flying over the 
Serpentine and Longwater ; the next day there were a few more, 
and on the 27th their numbers had increased to at least a 
hundred. On August 28 I heard another willow-wren in 
Kensington Gardens, and saw a swift there, and on the same 
day a robin paid a visit to New Square, Lincoln’s Inn. 
I was not in town in September until the 23rd, when I found 
hundreds of sand-martins and a good many house-martins flying 
over the Longwater. On October 6 the sand-martins were still 
there, but they left after the 8th. I went out for a spin on my 
bicycle before breakfast on the morning of Sunda}’, November 
22 ; it was dark, raw and cold, but my energy was rewarded, for 
I passed a chaffinch in Redclyffe Gardens, and not less than a 
dozen thrushes were singing splendidly in Battersea Park. 
On November 30 I saw a wren in Kensington Gardens — the 
first I have seen there for some years, though formerly they 
were quite fairly common. 
I have no notes of any interest relating to birds seen in 
London last December. 
A. Holte Macpherson. 
