( 1^2 ) 



ON THE POSITIONS ASSUMED BY BIRDS 

 IN FLIGHT. 



BY 

 BENTLEY BEETHAM, f.z.s. 



I. STARTING. 



The flight of birds must ever remain a source of interest 

 and inspiration to man, for should he eventually master 

 aerial, as successfully as he has terrestrial, locomotion, 

 birds would, by reason of their inherent sensibility to 

 gauge the varying air-currents, still remain vastly his 

 superior in the art, if not in actual pace at least in the 

 finer manipulations. 



But whether we regard flight from the standpoint 

 of the ornithologist or the aviator, the actions of these 

 naturally-equipped performers cannot be too closely 

 regarded. 



The great difficulty met with in studying the flight of 

 birds is the indefinite and almost inexpressible nature 

 of much of our observation. We see a bird make a sudden 

 turn or falter in its course : a little thing, yet even if 

 we could analyze its actions, which is improbable, it would 

 take a page or two of writing before we could be sure 

 that another would understand the positions and actions 

 as we saw them. In our present lack of intimacy with 

 the subject words are quite inefficient, and we must 

 largely rely on pictures, photographs by preference, 

 wherewith to record our observations. 



The slower and individual movements of the wings 

 and tails of such large birds as Herons, Gulls, or Eagles 

 are easy to perceive, and in many cases their object or 

 result can be appreciated, if only one can get close enough. 

 Unfortunately, however, our near glimpses of large birds 

 on the wing are usually but momentary, and it is only 

 by piecing together little isolated scraps of observation 

 that we can get a consecutive idea of what has taken place. 

 Often the combination of our eyes and brain is far too 



