32 BIRD WATCHING 



ocean of the air. It is, I think, the cessation of 

 all effort on the bird's part which makes the great 

 lovehness here. The impetus has been gained in 

 flight before — acres of moorland away sometimes — it 

 " Cometh from afar." The upward fall, the delicious, 

 crested curl and soft, sinking swoon to the earth are 

 all rest — rhythmical, swift-moving rest. 



Another curious and extremely pretty performance 

 — a familiar bar of that thread of melody, that " main 

 theme " of the " movement " — is when two birds, one 

 just a little behind the other, and at slightly different 

 elevations, both make the same movements, in quick 

 succession, the bird behind mimicking the one in front 

 of him in a kind of aerial follow-my-leadership. Does 

 the one pause and hang on extended wings that 

 rapidly beat the air, the other does so too. Does 

 it sail on a little, and then make a sideway dive, it 

 is imitated in the same way, and thus, often for quite 

 a little while, the two will understudy each other — 

 for each, I think, may alternately become the leader. 

 Again — if this is not merely a development of the 

 above — two of them will hover on outstretched wings 

 directly over and almost touching each other. Some- 

 times, indeed, they do touch, for the bird that is stretched 

 above is continually trying to strike down on the other 

 one with his wings, and often succeeds by making a 

 sudden little drop on to him — a drop which is only 

 of an inch or so — quite covering him up for a moment. 

 Then, disjoining, they will flap along for some while, 

 still close together, flashing out alternately dark and 

 silver, as if showing their glints to each other, till in 

 two " dying falls " they sweep apart, and skim the 

 ground and double-loop the heavens. 



