waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest ; but how he 
rises, and whence comes the propelling force, is, to the eye, inex- 
plicable ; he alters merely the angle at which the wings are in- 
clined ; usually they are parallel to the water and _ horizontal ; 
but when he turns to ascend, or makes a change in his direction, 
the wings then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other to the 
water.” 
One sometimes hears the skylark described as “ soaring ” 
upwards, when performing that wonderful musical ride which has 
made him so famous. But as, spell-bound, one listens to his 
rapturous strains, and watches his spiral ascent, one cannot help 
noticing that his wings are never still, they seem almost to be 
“beating time” to his music. In true soaring they are 
scarcely ever moved. 
The upward progress of a bird when soaring is, of necessity, 
* plunging ” 
flight the case is very different, for here the velocity of the descent 
comparatively slow. But in what we may call ‘ 
is great. 
The frigate-birds of tropical seas, and the gannet of our own, 
display this mode of flight to perfection. It is worth going far 
to see a gannet dive. Travelling at a relatively considerable 
height, and eagerly scanning the surface of the water for signs of 
a shoal of fish, this amazing birds dives with the speed of lightn- 
ing, and with half-spread wings disappears with a terrific plunge 
29. 
