228 The Flying-fish 



The Flying-fish is probably one of the most prolific 

 of all fish, not even excepting the herring. For it 

 must be remembered that it is the staple food of all 

 the larger pelagic fish, albacore, dolphin, bonito, and 

 skip-jack, while undoubtedly it preys upon its own 

 species more ravenously than do the strangers. I have 

 caught a Flying-fish with another nearly half its own 

 size jammed in its throat, and the greedy rascal had 

 eleven smaller ones, ranging from one to three inches 

 long, distending its maw. This fact of its exceeding 

 voracity soon modified my feelings of compassion 

 towards it. Like most people, I felt sorry for the poor 

 persecuted fish, which appeared to know no moment 

 of security, whose life was one long series of hair- 

 breadth escapes ; indeed, I often wondered how it 

 was that any escaped at all. For, the attack of the 

 dolphin, for instance, always seemed to me unerring. 

 I never saw a Flying-fish missed by a dolphin, often 

 as I have seen them chased, and numberless times 

 have I seen the graceful sea-birds swoop down into 

 the midst of the fleeing school and take easy toll of 

 them while on the wing. But when I saw how ruthless 

 they were themselves, and also how, in spite of the 

 amazing numbers eaten by the larger fish and birds, 

 there never seemed to be any diminution in the quan- 

 tity of those remaining, I ceased to criticise the ar- 

 rangements of the Creator, and reassured myself 

 that the Flying-fish was as perfectly happy and as 

 well provided for as are all the rest of His creatures. 



The other species of Flying-fish, which I have not 

 yet alluded to at length, E. nigricans, is quite an 

 imposing fish. He has two pairs of wings, the ventrals 

 being extended like the pectorals, only of course, 

 less so. It is a handsome, if sombre-looking fish, 

 its markings being black and silver instead of blue 



