NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
99 
fishers, which he said had then haunted the lake for some time. His conjecture 
that they might have bred there, in my opinion may be dismissed at once as out of 
the question. I myself caught sight of one on the morning of October i8, 1896, and 
another Field correspondent records seeing one while passing the Battersea reser- 
voirs in a railway carriage. Even in winter, when the majority of lesser grebes leave 
.St. James’s Park, one or two individuals — probably young birds — stay behind, and 
the pair which persistently haunted Battersea Park all last summer remained for 
the winter, or at least paid such frequent visits that it amounted to the same thing. 
By next summer I hope the lesser grebe will have bred at Battersea. Several 
times during October I had the pleasure of watching the grey wagtail, once in 
St. James’s, and two or three times by the river shore outside Battersea Park. 
This extent of mud, shingle and stones, when left uncovered by the tide, is a pretty 
sure find for a meadow pipit or pied wagtail in winter. It also proves attractive 
to many other birds besides ; carrion crows, rooks, starlings, chaffinches, an occa- 
sional pigeon, scores of sparrows, and in hard weather the thrush tribe, all 
patronise it as a feeding ground. Latterly a pair of wild ducks — deserters from 
one of the parks — have taken up their quarters between bridges, and are fre- 
quently to be seen on this tract of foreshore. 
W. N. Rushen. 
London Magpies. — The magpies in Regent’s Park, according to my 
informant (a friendly keeper), were turned out some time ago by one of the higher 
park officials, and are consequently not genuine wild birds. I think it doubtful 
whether any but escaped or semi-domesticated birds of this kind ever take up 
their quarters for any length of time within the metropolitan area. The magpies 
generally to be seen in St. James’s Park have been about there now for several 
years ; the original bird appeared of his own .accord, and finding the place to his 
liking has stayed on as a permanent ornament to the park ever since. Sometimes 
he is joined by a compatriot or two, but .Mr. Riley, the duck keeper, considers 
one magpie quite enough at a time. Over and over again he has seen the vaga- 
bond busy robbing the wood pigeons’ nests, and he has numberless other ways of 
making himself objectionable. I believe, however, that one summer a hand- 
reared hen was turned out for his benefit, but the experiment was not a success. 
The tame one generally preferred sitting on the back of a seat with an admiring 
crowd of small boys about her, while its companion has always been far too wary 
to come within reach of a human being. Tne carrion crow, rook, jackdaw and 
jay are all quite common in and about London, but the magpie, as a genuine wild 
bird, is undoubtedly very rare. 
\V. Naunton Rushen. 
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