The flight is very similar to that of a dragon fly. Several 
times this morning I distinctly saw the movement of the 
"vfings" or the haze produced by their rapid vibration, but 
often they appeared to be and doubtless were held rigid, 
especially when the fish had attained a good momentum and 
was going down wind. In other words, it is quite clear that 
these fish, like certain birds and insects, flap or scale 
on set wings as suits their pleasure or convenience. 
Usually they fly on a nearly level plane but by no 
means uncommonly they follow the undulations of the waves, 
rising and falling a foot or two, while occasionally one 
will mount directly upward to a height of five or six feet, 
hover a moment and then either plunge back into the water 
or glide off on a long, gentle decline. They turn right 
angles with perfect ease and often very abruptly. There 
appears to be much individual difference in their powers of 
flight. Some rise feebly and handle themselves clumsily; 
others are almost as ea.sy and graceful of movement as 
Swallows, although the grace is of a different quality. I 
am by no means sure that the Flying Fish is not the more 
beautiful creature of the two. Against this background 
of intensely blue water with the sun striking fairly on 
its sides, it gleams like highly burnished silver and 
attracts the eye as quickly as would the flash of a bit of 
looking-glass. When going straight away, it has a grayish 
