256 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 



and dying bird ; the king-fisher darts along like an arrow ; fern- 

 owls, or goat-suckers, glance in the dusk over the tops of trees 

 like a meteor; starlings as it were swim along, while missel- 

 thrushes use a wild and desultory flight ; swallows sweep over 

 the surface of the ground and water, and distinguish themselves 

 by rapid turns and quick evolutions ; swifts dash round in circles ; 

 and the bank-martin moves with frequent vacillations like a 

 butterfly. Most of the small birds fly by jerks, rising and falling 

 as they advance. Most small birds hop ; but wagtails and larks 



THE COMMON MOORHEN (Gallmula. chloro^us). 



walk, moving their legs alternately. Skylarks rise and fall per- 

 pendicularly as they sing ; woodlarks hang poised in the air ; and 

 titlarks rise and fall in large curves, singing in their descent. 

 The white-throat uses odd jerks and gesticulations over the tops 

 of hedges and bushes. All the duck-kind waddle ; divers and 

 auks walk as if fettered, and stand erect on their tails : these are 

 the competes of Linnaeus. Geese and cranes, and most wild fowls, 

 move in figured flights, often changing their position. The 

 secondary remiges of Tringae, wild-ducks, and some others, are 

 very long, and give their wings, when in motion, a hooked 



