NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE 139 



skirmish ; and, when they move from one place to another, 

 frequently turn on their backs with a loud croak, and seem 

 to be falling to the ground. When this odd gesture betides 

 them, they are scratching themselves with one foot, and 

 thus lose the center of gravity. Rooks sometimes dive and 

 tumble in a frolicksome manner ; crows and daws swagger 

 in their walk ; wood-peckers fly volatu undoso, opening and 

 closing their wings at every stroke, and so are always rising 

 or falling in curves. All of this genus use their tails, which 

 incline downward, as a support, while they run up trees. 

 Parrots, like all other hooked-clawed birds, walk aukwardly, 

 and make use of their bill as a third foot, climbing and 

 descending with ridiculous caution. All the gallina parade 

 and walk gracefully, and run nimbly ; but fly with difficulty, 

 with an impetuous whirring, and in a straight line. Mag- 

 pies and jays flutter with powerless wings, and make no 

 dispatch ; herons seem incumbered .with too much sail for 

 their light bodies, but these vast hollow wings are necessary 

 in carrying burdens, such as large fishes and the like ; 

 pigeons, and particularly the sort called smiters, have a way 

 of clashing their wings the one against the other over their 

 backs with a loud snap ; another variety, called tumblers, 

 turn themselves over in the air. Some birds have move- 

 ments peculiar to the season of love ; thus ring-doves, 

 though strong and rapid at other times, yet in the spring 

 hang about on the wing in a toying and playful manner ; 

 thus the cock-snipe, while breeding, forgetting his former 

 flight, fans the air like the wind-hover ; and the green-finch 

 in particular, exhibits such languishing and faultering 

 gestures as to appear like a wounded and dying bird ; the 

 king-fisher darts along like an arrow ; fern-owls, or goat- 

 suckers, glance in the dusk over the tops of trees like a 

 meteor ; starlings as it were swim along, while missel-thrushes 

 use a wild and desultory flight ; swallows sweep over the 

 surface of the ground and water, and distinguish themselves 

 by rapid turns and quick evolutions ; swifts dash round in 

 circles ; and the bank-martin moves with frequent vacilla- 

 tions like a butterfly. Most of the small birds fly by jerks, 



