(345) BIRDS OF INNER LONDON. BY A. HOLTE MACPHERSON. ADDITIONAL SPECIES. DURING 1935 two species occurred which make additions to the list published in this magazine in 1929 (Vol. XXII., pp. 222-244) and subsequently extended. A Snow-Bunting (Plectrophenax n. nivalis) was seen on November 26th, 1935, in Kensington Gardens, by Dr. G. Carmichael Low and Mr. E. G. Pedler, and has already been recorded {antea, p. 239). The date is worth noting. Mr. W. E. Glegg, in his Birds of Middlesex (p. 45), drew attention to the fact that out of the twelve dated occurrences of this species in the county, all but five were in November. Early in the morning of May 27th, 1935, I noticed a Black Tern (Chlidonias n, niger) flying to and fro over the Serpentine, Hyde Park. It stayed throughout the day and was seen by several other observers. At this time there was a marked passage of the species through the Thames Valley. I saw another Black Tern an hour later at Barnes, and had watched a party of six at Staines on the day before. ADDITIONAL NOTES IN 1935. There were probably not more than two pairs of Jays (Garrulus g. rufitergum) in the grounds of Holland House ; but, as in 1934, a pair frequented Regent's Park where Miss M. Rew noticed them on many occasions from January to September. A Goldfinch (Carduelis c. britannica) was seen by Miss M. Rew on March 7th and 16th in Regent's Park. Dr. G. Carmichael Low and Mr. E. G. Pedler saw a Brambling (Fringitta montifringilla) on March 29th in Kensington Gardens. The Long-tailed Titmouse (Mgithalos c. roseus) is a very uncommon visitor to Inner London, but on October 30th I noticed a flock of six in Holland Park Avenue, and on the same day Mr. R. W. Hale saw four flying over The Times office in the direction of Blackfriars Bridge. Mr. H. G. Attlee writes that on November 30th he saw three in a garden near Addison Road Station, Kensington. Mr. E. G. Pedler- saw a Goldcrest (Regulus r. anglorum ?) in Hyde Park on October 5th, and another in Kensington Gardens two days later. 346 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIX. A Pied Flycatcher (Muscicapa h. hypoleuca) was seen by Mr. E. M. Nicholson on September 23rd, in St. James's Park. A Wood-Warbler (Phylloscopus s. sibilatrix) was in song by the Long Water on May 30th in the early morning. Wheatears ((Enanthe ce, cenanthe) passed through Regent's Park in April, though in smaller numbers than usual (Miss M. Rew) ; and I only heard of two in the autumn, seen in Kensington Gardens by Mr. E. G. Pedler and Admiral C. S. Hickley. The Whinchat (Saxicola r. rubetra) was reported from Regent's Park by Miss M. Rew on April 10th, and by Mr. E. G. Pedler on August 24th from Kensington Gardens. A Redstart {Phcenicurus ph. phtxnicurus) was seen by Miss M. S. van Oostveen on April 10th, and another by Mr. E. G. Pedler on September 25th, both in Kensington Gardens. Swifts (Apus a. apus) were often flying over the Serpentine and Round Pond from May 9th throughout the summer. It is possible that they nested in the neighbourhood, but I have no evidence of it. The Kingfisher (Alcedo a. ispida) was observed by the Regent's Canal on February 26th (Miss M. Rew) ; in Kensing­ ton Gardens on March 29th and July 26th (Dr. G. Carmichael Low and Mr. E. G. Pedler) ; and in Battersea Park on August 3rd (Mr. H. G. Attlee). The Great Spotted Woodpecker {Dryabates m. anglicus) bred in the grounds of Holland House. The nest was about 18 feet from the ground in the trunk of a chestnut tree, within three yards of a public walk. The young birds were very vociferous during the first week of June, but not one in a hundred passers-by appeared to notice the sound. Of the nests of this species which I have seen in London and which were over ten feet from the ground, this was the only one from which the owners were not ejected by Starlings. Miss M. Rew informs me that she saw the Great Spotted Wood­ pecker in Regent's Park on various occasions throughout the year. Mr. E. G. Pedler observed a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates m. comminutus) several times during the autumn in Kensington Gardens. A Cuckoo (Cuculus c. canorus) was calling in Kensington Gardens on June 1st. Others were reported to me from the same place on July 23rd (Mr. D. Gunn) and 26th (Mr. E. G. Pedler), and from St. James's Park on July 28th (Mr. E. M. Nicholson). VOL. xxix.] BIRDS OF INNER LONDON. 347 A Sparrow-Hawk (Accipiter n. nisus) was seen by Miss M. Rew on March 16th in Regent's Park. A Shag (Phalacrocorax a. aristotelis), which stayed on the Serpentine from October 14th to 18th, and was identified by Mr. E. G. Pedler and Mr. D. Gunn, has already been recorded (antea, p. 293). Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps c. cristatus) paid an unusual number of visits to the water in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. They were seen in March, July, September, October and December. At the beginning of the year a vast number of Wood-Pigeons {Columbus p. palumbus) came into Kensington Gardens to roost. They must have numbered several thousands. Most came from the north and west. Their numbers rapidly diminished towards the end of February. Several hundreds which roosted on the island in the Serpentine arrived mostly from the east. The Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia t. turtur) was seen in Regent's Park in May and June (Miss M. Rew), also in September (Col. A. E. Hamerton) ; and in Kensington Gardens in June (Mr. E.G. Pedler). In the early and misty hours of May 30th, I came within a few feet of a very tired Dunlin (Calidris alpina) by the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens. It did not remain long, leaving before many people were about; yet it was identified and reported to me by four other observers, evidence of the large number of persons now taking an interest in birds. There is only one definite record of the previous occurrence of this species in Inner London. Some Common Sandpipers (Tringa hypoleucos) probably escaped notice. One was seen by Mrs. E. MacAlister on May 20th, and another by Mr. E. G. Pedler on July 14th. Both birds were by the Long Water. Mr. E. M. Nicholson heard several Curlew (Numenius a. arquata) over Westminster on the night of August 21st. A Common Tern (Sterna h, hirundo) visited the Serpentine on May 28th, and was reported to me by Mr. J. B. Watson and other observers. A Scandinavian Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus f. fuscus) was seen in St. James's Park by Mr. H. W. Robinson (antea, p. 188). I saw one by the Long Water on October 9th, side by side with it was an adult example of Larus f. graelhii. Mr. Graham Hopkins telephoned to me on September 18th that he had just been watching an Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) in St. James's Park. The bird had left when I 348 BRITISH BIRDS. [VOL. XXIX. arrived there half an hour later; but it had been noticed also by Mr. W. P. K. Neale, who recorded the occurrence in The Times (September 23rd, 1935). In the afternoon of October 14th a Puffin (Fratermla a. grabce) held up the traffic in the Strand by alighting in the middle of the roadway. It was caught and taken to the Zoological Gardens. On going to look at it three days later, I was informed that it had died during the preceding night. I found it in the hands of the pathologist, Colonel A. E. Hamerton, who had just examined it and told me its death was due to pneumonia. It was a young bird. ADDITIONAL NOTE FOR 1934. Too late for insertion in my last report, Mr. E. M. Nicholson informed me that on September 9th, 1934, when in Hyde Park, he heard and saw an Oystercatcher {Hcematopus ostrakgus). This bird was flying fairly low and as if lost; eventually it went off in the direction of Lancaster Gate. This species has previously only once been recorded from Inner London. .