24 ANIMAL LIFE PAST AND PRESENT. 



of 200 yards. They do not usually reach a height of 

 more than a few feet above the water, although they 

 occasionally spring so high as to alight on the decks 

 of ships. There are few more beautiful sights than to 

 watch from the bows of a large steamer a shoal of 

 .Flying Fish as they rise one after another, with their 

 quick meteor-like flight, and then as suddenly disappear 

 beneath the dark waters. 



Flying Fish, it may be observed, are first cousins of 



FIG. 10. The Flying Fish. 



the common Herring. The only other Fish endued 

 with the power of flight are the Flying Gurnards, 

 which belong to a totally different group, and of which 

 there are three kinds inhabiting the Mediterranean 

 and most tropical seas. All of them are larger and 

 heavier than the true Flying Fishes, although they 

 fly in the same manner. 



It has been stated that a Frog from the Malay 

 region uses the large webs on its feet as a kind of 



