Wings 335 



so well that it is careful to fly only to that side where 

 it sees a clear course It is sometimes, however, compelled 

 to take wing suddenly, without considering the obstacles 

 in its path; it also often miscalculates the height of an 

 obstacle, so that for tinamous to meet with accidents 

 when flying is verj^ common. In the course of a short 

 ride of two miles, during which several birds sprang up 

 before me, I have seen three of these tinamous dash 

 themselves to death agamst a fence close to the path, 

 the height of which they had evidently misjudged. I 

 have also seen a bird fly blindly against the wall of a 

 house, killing itself instantly. A brother of mine told 

 me of a very curious thing he once witnessed. He was 

 galloping over the pampas, with a very violent wind blow- 

 ing in his face, when a tinamou started up before his 

 horse. The bird flew up in the air vertically, and, beat- 

 ing its wings ^'iolently, and with a swiftness far exceeding 

 that of its ordinary flight, continued to ascend until it 

 reached a vast height, then came down again, whirling 

 round and round, striking the earth a ver}^ few yards 

 from the spot where it rose, and crushing itself to a pulp 

 with the tremendous force of the fall. It is very easy to 

 guess the cause of such an accident: while the tinamou 

 struggled blindly to go forward, the violent wind, catch- 

 ing the under surface of the wings, forced it upward, until 

 the bird, becoming hopelessly confused, fell back to earth. 

 I have often seen a swallow, gull, or hawk, soaring about 

 in a high wind, suddenly turn the under surface of its 

 wings to the wind and instantly shoot straight up, appar- 

 ently without an effort, to a vast height, then recover 



