FLIGHT OF BIRDS. 261 



strong and rapid at other times, yet in the spring 

 hang about on the wing in a toying and playful 

 manner ; thus the cocksnipe, while breeding, for- 

 getting his former flight, fans the air like the 

 wind-hover ; and the greenfinch, in particular, 

 exhibits such languishing and faltering 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 them- 

 selves by rapid turns and quick evolutions ; swifts 

 dash round in circles ; and the bank-martin moves 

 with frequent vacillations like a butterfly. Most 

 of the small birds fly by jerks, rising and falling 

 as they advance. Most small birds hop ; but 

 wagtails and larks walk, moving their legs alter- 

 nately. Skylarks rise and fall perpendicularly as 

 they sing : woodlarks hang poised in the air ; and 

 titlarks rise and fall in large curves, singing in 

 their descent. The white-throat uses odd jerks 

 and gesticulations over the tops of hedges and 

 bushes. All the duck kind waddle ; divers and 

 auks walk as if fettered, and stand erect on their 

 tails, ; these are the compedes of Linnaeus. Geese 

 and cranes, and most wild fowls, move in figured 

 flights, often changing their position. The 

 secondary remiges of Tringse, wild ducks, and 

 some others, are very long, and give their wings, 

 when in motion, a hooked appearance. Dab- 

 chicks, moor-hens, and coots l , fly erect, with 



1 Coots have a very powerful flight when once on the wing, 

 and fly with their legs stretched out behind, acting the part 

 of a tail, in the manner of the heron. In Scotland and the 



