THROUGH THE YEAR 203 



even strong-winged birds like the hawks, are almost 

 powerless. Small birds will hustle and huddle 

 away from these storms, hardly daring to take the 

 open, though danger from man or beast threaten 

 them ; and I suppose there must be storms in which 

 even a gull, albatross, or petrel cannot live and 

 move with comfort. But in lesser gales, which 

 overwhelm many land birds, the herring and saddle- 

 back gulls and this much smaller black-headed gull 

 move and rest with perfect ease. 



It seems that the more the storm lashes and rages 

 above, the easier these wondrous fliers ride it. Not 

 only does this madding wind never throw them, but 

 they even control it largely go whither they will 

 on it. 



It is only when the black-headed gull drops to 

 the surface of the sea that he need begin to struggle, 

 or, at least, labour somewhat. It is when he 

 gets into the shallows of the air that he loses his 

 ease. 



It is in the storm depths and heights that he 

 moves supreme. 



In these high gliding and drifting exercises of 

 the black-headed gulls along the coast in storm I do 

 not imagine the screw of flight can be active. I feel 

 sure that in ordinary aerial feats, in straightforward 

 flight of birds and insects and bats, and in the 

 hovering, figure-of-eight feats, too, the action of the 

 wing is screwlike twisting ever on itself, screwing 

 and unscrewing on the air. Whenever the whole 

 wing beats, or the wing tip beats in however small 



