Couriers of the Air. 59 



off short, again disappears. We are standing on 

 an old stone bridge, and are enabled to observe 

 it closely. By a rapid, vibratory motion of the 

 wings, it drives itself down through the water, 

 and by the aid of its wide-spreading feet clings 

 to and walks among the pebbles. These it 

 rapidly turns over with its bill, searching for 

 the larvae of water flies and gauzy-winged 

 ephemerce. It searches the brook carefully 

 downwards, sometimes clean immersed, at other 

 times with its back out, then with the water 

 barely covering its feet. It does not always 

 work with the stream, as we have frequently 

 seen him struggling against it, but retaining its 

 position upon the bottom. Even at the present 

 day there are naturalists who, from the exam- 

 ination of cabinet specimens, aver that it is not 

 in the power of the bird to walk on the bottom 

 of the brook, but then they know nothing of him 

 along his native streams. 



Taking advantage of two birds remarkable for 

 their long and sustained powers of flight, 

 experiments have recently been conducted with 

 a view to utilising swallows and pigeons as war 

 messengers. In this connection the use of 

 trained pigeons is one of the oldest institutions 

 in the world ; though now that certain European 

 Powers have trained falcons to cut down 

 pigeons, it is said that the pigeon -post is not 

 sufficiently reliable. In consequence a number 



