324 Capf. C. Ingram on the [This, 



had seen a flock of Geese flying over Abeele, Flanders, at 

 9000 ft.; and T have two other notes of occnrrences at 8000 ft. 

 and over, and one as low as 3000 ft. 



The orealest height of which I have a record is 15,000 ft. 

 Lieut. J. S. Rissen, of 57 Squadron, met with " two large 

 birds'" at this elevation when flying a D.H. 4, in August 

 1917, over the country lying between St. Omer and the coast. 

 Rissen informed me that he was certain of the height, and, 

 from his description, I should say the birds were most 

 probably Cranes. Col. Portal also met with a large bird 

 which may ])ossibly have been a Crane, but I will quote from 

 his letter so that the reader may judge on this point for 

 himself: — 



" One day — April 21st, to be exact — my observer and I 

 saw an enormous bird at 8000 ft. flying north over Lens. 

 We were at 6500 ft., and there was a thin layer of mist just 

 above us. My observer hit me on the back, and I looked up 

 to see a very big bird, about 7 ft. or 8 ft. span, flying straight 

 above in the opposite direction. My observer thought it was 

 a Heron, hut I think it was an Eagle. . . . The wing-flap 

 looked like that of an Eagle, and I am sure it was a bird 

 with a very short tail, lirge rounded wings, and greyish 

 brown in colour. It might have been any size from 6 ft. to 

 16 ft. across, but I put it down as about 8 ft." 



A propcs of the above, I might mention that a pilot who 

 had flown many hours on the Salonika front told me he 

 had several times met with Eagles in that district at 

 about 6000 ft., and it was in this region that the French 

 aviator Louis Noel shot two Eagles in the air from his 

 machine with a shot-gun. 



Passerine birds do not, as a rule, appear to fly very high, 

 but Major B. J. Silly, of 55 Squadj-on, and his observer 

 Lt. A. P. Taylor saw some " Linnet-like birds, with dipping 

 flight,'' at 10,000 ft. over Bethune on 22 August, 1917. 



" About fifty Rooks, Jackdaws, or Crows " were noted 

 over Lens at 6000 ft. in March 1917. and " six birds about 

 the size of Rooks" flying S.W. over Arras at 3000 ft. on 

 10 July, 1918 (Major F. C. Russell). I have a record 

 of Starlings at 3500 ft. and another of Fieldfares or Red- 



