25 APRIL 1931, Page 14

Oxford and Cambridge are peculiarly rich in birds. Where do

more birds gather to urban gardens than within Oxford (say, in the Masters' Lodgings of University) or where are you surer of finding certain migrants, such as the yellow wagtail than the Port Meadows in spring ? As for the sur- roundings of Cambridge, it is enough to mention the nearness of Norfolk and its incomparable Broads. The greatest of the sanctuaries there is, I hear, richer than ever this year with rarer birds, such as bittern, bearded tit, and several harriers. Incidentally for myself I never saw so many sorts of birds, when not looking for them purposely; as on the golf links of Mildenhall. It excelled even Woolacombe, that favourite haunt of the wheatear and stonechat.

W. BEACH THOMAS.