10 



Bird Notes and News 



is characteristic of Waders feeding on the 

 mud-flats or sand at low tide, and of Gulls 

 when they are not alarmed or only slightly 

 suspicious. When they are frightened they 

 use the " jump start." The Cormorant when 

 siu'prised on the flat has to waddle some 

 distance with outstretched wings before he 

 can get imder weigh ; so does the Puffin. 

 Both these birds can start easily enough from 

 even a low rock. 



Birds which rise from the water may be 

 divided into two classes. Some give one 

 hard stroke with their legs, and their wings 

 are free to play. This class is headed by the 

 Gulls, who can rise into the air practically 

 at once. The Terns also rise easily ; what 

 they lack in leg power they make up in 

 length of wing. Most Ducks rise fairly easily. 

 The Swans, Guillemots, Grebes, Diving 

 Ducks, and Cormorants leave the water by 

 the " hydroplane " method of starting ; on 

 accoimt of their weight they cannot leave the 

 water with a jump, so they stretch their wings 

 and paddle along as hard as they can with 

 their feet until sufficient motion is gained 

 to raise them. 



Big birds are all very gradual risers, except 

 the game birds whose wing strokes are very 

 rapid. Some sea-birds. Gulls, Terns, etc., 

 and those that frequent open plains are 

 slow risers, as they would gain no advantage 

 by rising quickly. Birds that build on a 

 cliff, such as the Eagle and various sea-birds, 

 can staii; easily by dropping on to their wings 

 from the side of the cliff, and such slight loss 

 of altitude as this causes is of no consequence 

 to them. 



Alighting. 



A small perching bird will fold its wings 

 and incline its body do\\Tiwards. A Pigeon 

 will either partly flex his wings and volplane, 

 or else slope his wings up and float down on 

 an even keel. Snipe are remarkable for 

 their nearly perpendicular descent with the 

 wings half flexed. Ducks and similar birds 

 keep their wings stretched out and their 

 weight brings them down very rapidly. 

 Birds such as Plover, Rooks, Gulls, Herons, 

 etc. , glide down on outstretched wings, either 

 straight or in circles according to circum- 

 stances. The Great Northern Diver appears 

 to have great difficulty in alighting. It may 

 sometimes be seen flying round, gettmg lower 

 and lower, and then rising again as if it did 



not dare to make the final dash. Many of 

 the Waders, Gulls and Terns hold the wings 

 stretched above the head for a moment after 

 alighting. Gulls do this on the water. The 

 heavy water-birds approach the water with 

 a volplane, check their speed by slanting up 

 the body, putting the feet well out in front 

 and expanding the webs, skim along the 

 sm-face for some distance, and sink down 

 gradually as the speed diminishes. 



Birds alight in the face of the wind when- 

 ever possible. 



Style of Flight. 



The style of flight employed by different 

 birds varies a great deal. Some species, 

 such as the gallinaceous, are remarkable for 

 their directness of flight. Others, notably 

 the small birds, Jays and Woodpeckers, 

 fly with a peculiar undulating motion, due to 

 a partial or total folding of the wings after 

 a few strokes. The leason for it is economy 

 of energy. It may be taken as a rule that 

 large, heavy-bodied, comparatively short- 

 winged birds which cannot afford to lose 

 altitude once gained, fly in a straight line, 

 while the small birds whose wing-expanse is 

 large compared with their weight, find it 

 easier to employ the undulating or dipping 

 motion. 



Flight in Flocks. 



The ffight of large numbers of birds in 

 flocks is a most beautiful sight ; it also 

 presents many points of great interest. 



There are two sorts of flocks, perfect flocks, 

 in which everj'' member keeps time with the 

 leader, and imperfect flocks where the 

 discipline is not so good. The small shore 

 birds are the most perfect flock flyers — 

 Dunlin, Ringed Plover, and the like. It is a 

 wonderful sight to see a number of these 

 graceful little birds wheeling and twisting 

 over sand-banks and mud-flats. They keep 

 m perfect time, and every twist and tiun is 

 executed with absolute uniformity. Teal do 

 not fall far short of this. Ducks and Geese 

 are good flock-flyers, but not quite so perfect 

 as Teal. These birds usually fly in the form 

 of a wedge. 



Starlings sometimes form into flocks of 

 immense numbers and may be seen streaming 

 out over a great length. The flock then 

 follows its leaders, exactly copying every bend 

 and motion as they arrive at the spot where 



