behind, now sweeping past in a long "rapid curve, like a 

 perfect skater on a perfect field of ice. There is no effort ; 

 watch as closely as you will, you will rarely see, or never see, 

 a stroke of the mighty pinion. The flight is generally near 

 the water, often close to it. You lose sight of the bird as he 

 disappears in the hollow between the waves, and catch him 

 again as he rises over the crest ; but how he rises, and whence 

 comes the propelling force, is, to the eye, inexplicable ; he 

 alters merely the a.ngle at which the ^ngs are inclined ; 

 usually they are parallel to the water and horizontal ; but 

 when he turns to ascend, or makes a change in his direction^ 

 the wings then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other 

 to the water." 



One sometimes hears the skylark described as " soaring" 

 upwards, when performing that wonderful musical ride 

 which has made him so famous. But as, spell-bound, one 

 listens to his rapturous strains, and watches his spiral ascent, 

 one cannot help noticing that his wings are never still, they 

 seem almost to be " beating time " to his music. In true 

 soaring they are scarcely ever moved. 



The upward progress of a bird when soaring is, of necessity, 

 comparatively slow. But in what we may call " plunging " 

 flight the case is very different, for here the velocity of the 

 descent is great. 



The frigate-birds of tropical seas, and the gannet of our 



29 



