when they are fed on the wing, taking their food as they 
hover on trembling pinions from their parent’s beak. In a 
little while the food is dropped as the parent passes, and the 
youngsters are made to catch it as it falls. From thence, 
onwards, they have to do their own hunting. The clumsy 
ones must die. Eagles and hawks, in like manner, teach 
their young to capture swiftly moving prey by dropping 
food to them in mid-air. If one fails to catch it the parent 
swoops down and seizes the hard-won meal before it reaches 
the ground ; then mounting aloft with it, drops it once more, 
till, at last the required dexterity is gained. 
260 
