356 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS 



heights, at one moment it seems stationary, and 

 at another it sweeps round in large circles, with- 

 out the slightest visible motion of the wings, the 

 wind at the time blowing steadily from one point. 

 How are these circles completed against the wind 

 without perceptible muscular exertion ? 



Large flocks of Starlings roost among willows 

 and alders, growing by the sides of ponds and 

 rivers. They spend the twilight in making a pro- 

 digious noise and chattering, with occasional short 

 flights backwards and forwards. The flights of 

 these birds are very curious. When a flock of them 

 is viewed from a distance, with the sun reflected 

 on their wings, they appear and disappear as they 

 turn to the left or right, according to the gleams 

 of light. 



Linnets whistle inwardly as they sit in flocks, 

 and so, I think, do Starlings. 



A Gold Fish, in a small fountain, in the grounds 

 of a gentleman of my acquaintance, swam about 

 for more than two months with its belly upwards. 

 It appeared perfectly healthy and lively. This 

 change from the natural position of the fish was, 

 probably, owing to an enlargement or defect in 

 the air-bladder. 



