THROUGH THE YEAR 93 



about the glen half a mile from the sea. But on 

 this evening the conduct of the birds changed. 

 They hung and soared in the wind, some of them 

 at great heights. I do not think that upward cur- 

 rents of air caused this change ; and, given an air in 

 commotion, I believe that the herring gulls, and the 

 rooks too, can always engage in these flights. 



The herring gull is the climber of the air, the swift 

 is the archer. The swift shoots through the skies 

 from its own bent wing as an arrow from a twanging 

 string ! 



When I watch the archer I feel that he repre- 

 sents the finest effort which can be got from feathered 

 flight. His seems the master feat of all these glorious 

 actions of wing. But when I watch the high soaring 

 and spiring of the herring gull or the lesser black- 

 backed gull's miles of mazy motion round his stack 

 rock, I think that here are the master feats. Prob- 

 ably there is really little to choose between them 

 in perfect ease and grace. 



The swift is speedier, because he needs high speed 

 for his way of life and travel ; but the herring gull 

 has this not less noble gift to climb the skies in a 

 breeze without the effort we associate with climbing. 



THE SPOTTED YELLOW MOTH 



Flight, natural and artificial, has to-day a hun- 

 dred students, perhaps, to each one it had when, 

 some years ago, I began to write about it. I advise 

 all who are interested in it to watch and compare the 

 styles of different birds and insects. The variations 



