. Birds in London . le, in which the wholeof the thickly built-over portion appears un-coloured; the surrounding country colouredgreen; the open spaces, including cemeteries,deep green ; the small spaces—squares, graves,churchyards, gardens, recreation grounds, &c.,as dark dots ; the suburban districts, not denselypopulated, where houses have gardens andgrounds, pale green. Now the white space is not really birdless,being everywhere inhabited by sparrows, and inparts by numerous and populous colonies ofsemi-wild pigeons, while a few birds of otherspecies make their homes in London
. Birds in London . le, in which the wholeof the thickly built-over portion appears un-coloured; the surrounding country colouredgreen; the open spaces, including cemeteries,deep green ; the small spaces—squares, graves,churchyards, gardens, recreation grounds, &c.,as dark dots ; the suburban districts, not denselypopulated, where houses have gardens andgrounds, pale green. Now the white space is not really birdless,being everywhere inhabited by sparrows, and inparts by numerous and populous colonies ofsemi-wild pigeons, while a few birds of otherspecies make their homes in London Hibbert, writing of London birds inI8G0, says : London is, indeed, far richer inbirds than it deserves to l)e. He also says : Afew birds, however, appear to be speciallyadapted not merely for London as viewed from SUIiVEY OF THE PABKS : WEST LONDON 153 without, but for London par excellence^ that isto say for the noisy, almost treeless City; with ^s^ RAVENSCOURT PARK these for pioneers , nature invades the. Stock Exchansfe, the Court of Aldermen, the Bank, and all the railway termini, as if to say. Shut us out if you can But with the exception of these few pecuharly urban species we may take it that the London 154 BIIWS IN LONDON birds uet their food, breed, and live most of thetime in the open spaces where there are trees andbushes. Even the starHng, which breeds inbuildin^i^s, must go to the parks to feed. It must also be borne in mind that birds thatpenetrate into London from the surroundingcountry—those that, like the carrion crow, liveon the borders and fly into or across Londonevery day, migrants in spring and autunni,young birds reared outside of London goingabout in search of a place to settle in, andwanderers generally—all fly to and alight on thegreen spaces only. These spaces form their(tamping grounds. As there is annually a veryconsiderable hiflux of feathered strangers, wecan see by a study of the map how much easierto penetrate and more attractive some
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhudsonwhwilliamhenry1, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890
