32 BIRD BEHAVIOUR 



ground-birds, the Blackcock being the best-known 

 exception. 



Short- winged birds may display a quite unexpected 

 power of flight ; thus the Jay flaps along with 

 slow beats like its far longer- winged relative the 

 Crow, can fly fast if it likes, or swoop in an almost 

 Hawk-like way, and often crosses the North Sea 

 on migration. On the other hand, birds with 

 large long wings may be, in rare cases, very poor 

 flyers, as in the case of the Secretary-bird of Africa, 

 this strange pedestrian Eagle having so neglected 

 its wings that its flight, although of Eagle-like 

 stateliness, is very weak, and the bird can even be 

 run down by greyhounds, just as the short- winged 

 heavy Wild Turkey is. 



There are stories of Great Bustards being coursed 

 by greyhounds, and Xenophon says positively that 

 in the historic retreat of the Ten Thousand the 

 Greeks rode them down, " for they fly only a short 

 distance like Partridges, and soon give in." It 

 seems to me quite possible that this Bustard was 

 in former times on the way to degenerating into 

 the state of the Steamer-Duck above mentioned, 

 and that increasing persecution by man has simply 

 eliminated degenerate individuals, as the bird is 

 now a strong flyer and goes long distances. 



