188 THE NATUEAL HISTOEY 



Thus kites and buzzards sail round in circles with wings ex- 

 panded and motionless ; and it is from their gliding manner that 

 the former are still called in the north of England gleads, from 

 the Saxon verb glidan, to glide. The kestrel, or wind-hover, has a 

 peculiar mode of hanging in the air in one place, his wings all 

 the while being briskly agitated. Hen-harriers fly low over 

 heaths or fields of corn, and beat the ground regularly like a 

 pointer or setting-dog. Owls move in a buoyant manner, as if 

 lighter than the air ; they seem to want ballast. There is a 

 peculiarity belonging to ravens that must draw the attention 

 even of the most incurious — they spend all their leisure time 

 in striking and cuffing each other on the wing in a kind of 

 playful 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 ; crotvs and dams swagger in their walk ; 

 mood-peckers fly volatu uiidosu, 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 ascending with ridiculous caution. All 

 the gallirue parade and walk gracefully, and run nimbly ; but fly 

 with difficulty, with an impetuous whirring, and in a straight 

 line. Magpies 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 movements 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 



