168 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



even yet been full}^ straightened. This final unfolding 

 and stiffening appears, so far as I can ascertain, to take 

 place at the ver}' moment of departure, and had this 

 photograph been taken a minute fraction of a second 

 later it would no doubt have revealed the wings as fully 

 extended as in Figure 4.* Here the wings are just 

 beginning to feel the weight of what they are to support 

 and are commencing their first downward beat. And 

 now, though it has only travelled a few inches from the 



FIGURE 5. — FAIRLY ON THE WING. 

 {Photographed by Bentley Beetham.) 



rock and the feet have not yet been tucked away under 

 the tail, the Gannet is fairly on the wing, exasperatingly 

 able and wishful to go beyond the range of our lens or 

 even of our observation. 



* The tip of the left wing of the bird in this figure has been retouched, 

 as owing to an accident a portion of the photograph (involving about 

 half of the primaries) had become obliterated. The other photographs 

 have not been retouched in any way and have been chosen to illustrate 

 the various points discussed rather than because they were good 

 photographs. 



