66 THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS 
air-cushions, though he is the Gannet’s near relative, 
is also clumsy in aligMfing, and Mr. H. F. Witherby 
has described to me how Cormorants, wishing to 
alight upon a post, will sometimes make a bad shot, 
pass it, and have to turn and try again. A Gull will 
alight gracefully enough on the water, but when he 
is aiming at a particular spot on a rock, for example, 
he will often paddle as awkwardly asa Gannet. The 
Lapwing is in a very different category ; he is noted 
for his power of suddenly stopping, of making every 
possible turn. ‘When you get near his nest he has a 
way of flying at you in threatening style, then 
suddenly checking himself and making off. He is a 
perfect master of bluff. A pair of Lapwings, by such 
menacing swoops and turns, will drive off a Crow 
whom they suspect of looking for their nest. In 
order to stop suddenly, what is wanted is a great 
expanse of feather, and I cannot help associating 
the Lapwing’s remarkable wings—they are so 
strikingly broad at the extremity—with his well- 
known shock tactics. 
I have already remarked on the skill which small 
birds show in alighting on their perch. Were a 
Linnet not very clever at making all the required 
adjustments, she would seldom reach her nest, some- 
where deep in a gorse bush, without accident. 
