6 ANIMALS OF NO IMPORTANCE. 



an Egyptian vulture may sometimes be espied, while the 

 marshy lakes in that region contain a variety of bird-life ; 

 among other forms flamingoes are conspicuous. In the 

 open sea one now and again comes across a flock of migra- 

 tory birds. While in mid-ocean birds are few and far 

 between ; with the exception of a few gannets, the atmo- 

 sphere appears almost devoid of bird-life. 



Near land gulls are numerous and follow the ship in 

 considerable numbers. The movements of sea-gulls are 

 extremely graceful. These beautiful creatures keep pace 

 with the ship with ridiculous ease, now just skimming the 

 water, now soaring high in the air ; at one moment far 

 behind the ship, at the next directly over head, flying 

 round and round in circles. These birds seem able to 

 fly for hours without tiring. A dozen flaps of the wing in a 

 minute is more than sufficient to enable them to keep up 

 with the boat, that is to say, to fly at the rate of about 

 fifteen miles an hour. They are, however, able to attain a 

 far greater velocity. It is difficult to estimate the greatest 

 speed at which gulls can fly, for they probably rarely 

 extend themselves. The writer's observations would seem 

 to indicate that gulls have no difficulty in flying, for a short 

 distance at least, at the rate of forty miles an hour. This 

 would seem to coincide with the results of other observers. 

 The flight of birds is a most interesting subject, and one 

 upon which our knowledge is at present very incomplete. 

 For purposes of flight birds fall into two classes those with 

 heavy bodies and short rounded wings, and those with light 

 bodies and large wings. The former move their wings 

 very rapidly, and fly for a short distance with great velocity. 

 Thus, driven partridges are said to travel at a speed of sixty 

 miles an hour. This class of birds cannot fly far, and are 

 not usually found at sea. The gull and the gannet belong 

 to the other class, their wings being long and their bodies 

 light. They are able to accomplish long journeys, often at 

 great speed. The motion of their wings is always slow. In 

 one experiment a swallow flew 160 miles in ninety minutes, 



