32 BIRD WATCHING 



ocean of the air. It is, I think, the cessation of 

 all effort on the bird's part which makes the great 

 loveliness here. The impetus has been gained in 

 flight before — acres of moorland away sometimes — it 

 "cometh from afar." The upward fall, the delicious, 

 crested curl and soft, sinking swoon to the earth are 

 all rest — rhythmical, swift-moving rest. 



Another curious and extremely pretty performance 

 — a familiar bar of that thread of melody, that " main 

 theme " of the " movement " — is when two birds, one 

 just a little behind the other, and at slightly different 

 elevations, both make the same movements, in quick 

 succession, the bird behind mimicking the one in front 

 of him in a kind of aerial follow-my-leadership. Does 

 the one pause and hang on extended wings that 

 rapidly beat the air, the other does so too. Does 

 it sail on a little, and then make a sideway dive, it 

 is imitated in the same way, and thus, often for quite 

 a little while, the two will understudy each other — 

 for each, I think, may alternately become the leader. 

 Again — if this is not merely a development of the 

 above — two of them will hover on outstretched wings 

 directly over and almost touching each other. Some- 

 times, indeed, they do touch, for the bird that is stretched 

 above is continually trying to strike down on the other 

 one with his wings, and often succeeds by making a 

 sudden little drop on to him — a drop which is only 

 of an inch or so — quite covering him up for a moment. 

 Then, disjoining, they will flap along for some while, 

 still close together, flashing out alternately dark and 

 silver, as if showing their glints to each other, till in 

 two "dying falls" they sweep apart, and skim the 

 ground and double-loop the heavens. 



