Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-09-06
q CKflFY BIRDS.
Interesting Visits 20 Londo I'm ~ the Vea
4 $, lures ONE.

LII usutSsd Au DlackDliNs,ad tIODluH llQ-
Startling or two were almost their
only=rivals. ~ s.. q
Now, tho ugh Lone don grows hugely
larg ersevery year, the better guarding.
Of the parks and more string gent en-:
force ent Of the lawsprot Getting wild
birds have worked change for the.
beher.ss Z :s .t5 - 81 s. :
T Last year there were two authenti-
Gated instances Of the cuckoo not nest;
ing--for the cuckoo never does that
but laying its eggs within the lin
its of London county. =: :: =. =.
4 CD. Cornish saw a young cuckoo
in sedge warbler's nest on Cheswick
Eyotz last spring. He watched with
a glass the 4unlucky foster parents
stufing food into the NAV ST their
big and hungry CHARGE. which, he.
says, would at times screech at the
rate Of 100 screeches a minute, with
such an effect on the nerves Of other
birds that even a passing sparrow
would stop, pick up food and fly into
hebush as if to feed it. r zs.e.. r:
Also, in Highgate cemetery, a
young cuckoo was seen in May last
in the nest Of a hedge sparrow, and
the finder writes that it is not the
first instance Of a cuckoo: being
Matched in the, same place! ~. 49,
The wood pigeon is generally
looked on as shy woodland bird. At
any rate, in the country it rarely nests
anywhere near a house. Yet for the
last six years in succession a pair Of
these birds have reared a young fam
lily in thevery heart of London. The
nest has been in a tree in the church,
yard Of st. Mary the, Virgin, Alder
manbury, and the energy of the old
birds in feeding their nestlings has
been source of delight to many
passers-by.> +
Last year there was also a wood
pigeons nest inthe churchyard of St.
Lawrence Poultney, Cannon street.
This was noticed by Rev. Edgar Goss,
who considers they are migrants from,
the London parks, where wood pig
cons now nest in considerable num-
bers.,1> = 80 49,: .. e. : -
! Even the owl is not unknown in
London. The wife Of a resident in
Peckham Rye was startl ed one day
: last summer BY big tawny owl fut-
stering, beneath cherry tree in the
garden. It appears to have had is
home in the tower of a neighborine
church, but to have been, disturbed BY
some alterations which were going or.
Battersea park is finer place to
! see wild birds than, many a country
copse. It may be that they come to-
call upon the Gagged birds there, and.
finding food ard protection, stay on.
ChaHnches nest there: The kim fsh-
er is an: old resident, and last; :yeal
bullfnch was actually seen. Cherry
bluetits fit from tree to tree. But
these birds do not usually build in
London. - = r =. . t..,''.:...,...-.
t Kew gardens is,the finest place, in
London for bird life. Nearly so
species breed there. Such rare birds
as the blackcap and the nuthatch> neS!t
in the peaceful trees: The clear blue
Eeggs Of the redstart have been found
| IN a hollow trunk, and the cheeky lit
tie gold crested wren has built her
! pendulous nest from the tips of con
! ifer. Chiffchaffs, wagtails and green
, woodpeckers are not uncommon, and
! such rare visitors as the hawfinch,
nightjar and kestrel are on record.
hwfnches, by the by, are more com
mon IN Epping forest, ten miles from
! London's heart, than almost any 3.
| where else in England. s.. =., !: g
Perhaps the rarest of any bird that
!; ever visits London was one which a
CORES pendent Of the Field saw ii,
Hyde Park last n oyember 13 at about
-four o'clock in the afIerno,oc,nr--,1r,n