pro THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] Sin,---This autumn I have
noticed for the first time what appears to me to be an interesting development in the habits of the wild birds, that visit London. Some twelve or fourteen years ago, during a very hard winter, considerable numbers of black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) came up the Thames to London in search of food. Finding it was a hospitable place, they continued to come in subsequent winters not so cold. Last summer a few stray birds could be seen, even in the height of summer. They used to fly up and down, from and to the coast, each day. This autumn, for the first time so far as my observation goes, they have commenced to spend the night in St. James's Park, sleeping on the ornamental water as if they were at sea. It would be interesting to know if any one has observed them doing this previous to this year.
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