ANIMAL FLIGHT 



One of the most interesting phenomena connected with 

 many of the animals that hve on land, as well as some that 

 live in water, is the abihty they possess of travehng through 

 the air, and any account of animals, especially of land ani- 

 mals, would be incomplete without a brief description of the 

 very diverse ways in which they do this. 



The possibility of passage through the air assists the animals 

 in their struggle for existence in four main ways. Among most 

 insects flight serves merely to distribute the various types more 

 widely and more evenly than would otherwise be possible for 

 these small creatures, thus enabling them more efficiently to 

 make use of the food supply. For instance, you plant some 

 cabbages in your garden. Soon some bright green cater- 

 pillars appear upon them. How did they get there? Their 

 mother, a small white butterfly, in flying about discovered 

 them. She was raised on someone else's cabbages, possibly 

 miles away. 



The uncountable myriads of insects cruising through the 

 air all summer day and night searching for a place to lay their 

 eggs or for a mate, form an important food supply themselves, 

 as their total bulk is very large, and many birds, Hke swallows, 

 most bats, and many other insects live exclusively upon them. 

 Hope of escape from enemies alone impels the flying-fish and 

 flying-squid to journey through the air, and many birds use 

 their wings only under similar conditions. Without the power 

 of flight bees could not store their honey, nor could most birds 

 find sufficient food. The food of vultures and the larger birds 

 at sea, for instance, is widely scattered, and to live at ah such 

 birds must be enabled to inspect an enormous area each day. 



Before taking up flight in detail let us digress a bit and see 

 how the mind of man has been influenced by the sight of birds 



lOO 



