1906- 1907.] Observations on the Flight of Flying Fishes. 409 



and to that end sinks down to the surface, in such a position 

 that its head and wings are much higher than its tail. As 

 soon as the tail touches the surface the fish ceases to sink, 

 and with its tail held in the water continues its flight, not 

 diminishing, but on the other hand apparently at once increas- 

 ing, its speed. As soon as ever the tail touches the water the 

 movement of the wings again becomes visible, and though I 

 have watched most carefully, I have never been able to see 

 that the wings, even the tips of them, touch the water. 

 Working on my theory that the dampness of the wings 

 causes the gleams which show them to be moving, I am 

 of opinion that the tail, when touching the surface, besides 

 acting as a rudder, also acts like a wick, along which damp- 

 ness is conveyed to the wings. The fish travels a few yards 

 only with its tail in the water, and then rises again and con- 

 tinues its flight, the movement of the wings again becoming 

 invisible. 



How far the fish can travel without falling entirely into 

 the water I cannot say, but I have watched them through a 

 powerful telescope till I could see them no longer. The flight 

 is always made up of short flights, — perhaps a hundred or a 

 hundred and fifty yards each, — between which the fish flies 

 low enough to enable it to get its tail into the water, but 

 never more than its tail. From the time the tail leaves the 

 water till it returns, the flight is perfectly straight; though 

 with the tail in the water the fish sometimes alters its course 

 to one at right angles, or even more, from the original one. 

 For this reason I think that, once in the air, they must keep 

 straight on ; but that by coming close to the water and putting 

 the tail in, they can go in any direction they may please. As 

 a rule they never fly higher than from one to two feet above 

 the surface, but that they can do so is proved by their some- 

 times reaching a ship's bridge between twenty and thirty feet 

 above the water. As this happens usually during a gale of 

 wind, I think the explanation is that the wind is too strong 

 for them. They appear on windy days to get suddenly lifted 

 into the air to fair heights above the water, and then, as if 

 afraid of going higher, they plunge back into the water. On 

 calm days they always settle down slowly, almost like a sea- 

 gull, and with hardly a splash. 



It is rather interesting, I think, that while the fish are in 



