<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations . Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . (February 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Feed the Birds is a song written by the Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman) and featured in the 1964 motion picture Mary Poppins . The song speaks of an old beggar woman (the "Bird Woman") who sits on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, selling bags of breadcrumbs to passers - by for tuppence a bag so that they can feed the many pigeons which surround the old woman . The scene is reminiscent of the real - life seed vendors of Trafalgar Square, who began selling birdseed to passers - by shortly after its public opening in 1844 . </P> <P> In the book, Mary Poppins accompanies the children, on the way to tea with their father, to give money to the bird woman to feed the birds . In the movie, on the way to the bank, their father discourages the children from feeding the birds, while Mary Poppins, who had sung the song to the children the previous night, was on her day off . Academy Award winner Jane Darwell played the Bird Woman, her last screen appearance . </P> <P> In contrast to the energetic nature of most of the film's songs, "Feed the Birds" is played in a reverent tempo . This most serious of songs is used to frame the truly important moments in a film that is mostly humorous and lighthearted . It is used in four places: </P>

Who sang feed the birds in mary poppins