Peculiarities of Various Birds 253 



the wings, which never seem to come forward, so that in 

 outline he resembles a crescent, the convex side in front. 

 His tail appears longer in proportion, and more pointed ; 

 his flight is like that of a very large swallow flying straight. 

 The cuckoo's cry can perhaps be heard farther than the 

 call of any other bird. The heron's power of voice comes 

 nearest : he sails at a great height, and his ' quaaack,' 

 drawn out into a harsh screech, may be heard at a long 

 distance. But then he has the advantage of elevation ; the 

 cuckoo never rises above the tops of the elms. 



Yellowhammers have a habit of sitting on a rail or 

 bough with their shoulders humped, so that they seem to 

 have no neck. In that attitude they will remain a long 

 time, uttering their monotonous chant ; most other birds 

 stretch themselves and stand upright to sing. The great 

 docks that grow beside the ditches are visited by the tom- 

 tits, who perch on them — the stalk of the dock is strong 

 and supports so light a weight easily. Sparrows may 

 sometimes be seen in July hawking in the air just above 

 the sward by the roadside — hovering like the kestrel, a 

 foot or so high, and then suddenly dropping like stones : 

 they are then so absorbed that they will scarcely fly away 

 on your approach. At the same time a rather long red fly 

 is abundant in the grass, and may be the attraction. The 

 swift's long narrow wings shut behind him as if with a 

 sharp snip, cutting the air like shears ; and then, holding 

 them extended, he glides like a quoit. 



In old days men used to be on the watch about the 

 time of the great race-meetings, in order to shoot at every 

 pigeon that went past, in hope of finding a message attached 

 to the bird, and so getting the advantage of early intelli- 

 gence. In one such case I heard of, the pigeon had the 

 name of the winner, and was shot on a tree where it had 



