THE FLIGHT OF WILD-FOWL. 113 



Water-fowl, of wliatever species, when flying high in the air, always 

 appear bent on some determined aim or destination, of which they 

 are careful not to lose sight. 



Wild swans fly in strong flight, with their necks straight forward, 

 and their feet straight backward, as remarked in the " Glantvilla de 

 Rerum Proprietatibus :" — "Volant autem cygni silvestres volatu forti 

 collis extensis, et pedibus ad posterius applicatis." 



Wild-geese are known by the catenarian fig-ure in which they fly 

 — precisely as if linked together, or strung on a line ; and hence they 

 are spoken of by the fowler as a " skein" of geese ; and whether they 

 raise their flight higher or lower in the aii", the same link-like 

 discipline is observed, though they are often changing their leaders 

 and altering their figure : " Colla inponunt praecedentibus, fessos 

 duces ad terga reeipiunt."* They always fly in conical order, as if 

 instinct had taught them that such a form encoimtered least resistance 

 on passing- through the air. Pliny compares their manner of flight 

 to a pointed squadron and the stem of a vessel at sea.f 



Ducks also fly in similar form, with heads and necks stretched 

 straight out in line with their bodies, and may be distinguished from 

 widgeon by the steadier and greater regularity of their movements 

 in the air ; and, when within range, the brown of the ducks' feathers 

 may be distinctly discerned. Ducks, when bent on long flights, do 

 not all move through the air at the same altitude, but some much 

 higher than others ; and large flights generally seem to have a break 

 in the centre, and present a figure very much resembling the outline 

 of North and South America, as it appears on the map. When 

 flying near the surface of land or water they are sometimes in a 

 confused mass. 



Widgeon sometimes fly with much regularity, following so closely 

 one upon another — though not so strictly in figure as ducks and 

 geese — that it is one of the peculiarities by which they may be dis- 

 tinguished. Their movements on the wing are quicker than ducks, and 

 the size of their bodies being smaller, and their necks shorter, it 

 is not difficult for the wild-fowler to distinguish their species. 

 Widgeon, when in flight, always keep up their call-note : ducks fly 

 in silence. 



Dun-birds fly very rapidly, with a noisy twitter of the wing ; and 



* PUny, lib. X., cap. 23, sec. 63. 



t " LiburnicaruiTi more rostrato impetu feruiitui', facilius ita findeutes aera quam 

 si recta f'ronte impellerent." — Ibid. 



Q 



