BRITISH BIRDS OF FASTEST FLIGHT 37 
for instance, the blackcock, is very deceptive. 
He is in fact flying much faster than he appears 
to be — " The eagle's flight, when passing from 
one point to another, is peculiarly expressive of 
strength and vigour. He wends his way with 
deliberate strong strokes of his powerful wing, 
every stroke apparently drawing him on a consider- 
able distance, and in this manner advancing through 
the air as rapidly as the pigeon or any other bird 
which may appear to fly much more quickly." ^ 
The answer to the question, Which of the two 
birds, the eagle or the peregrine, is the faster flier, 
must even on a horizontal flight be a matter of 
pure conjecture. On the one hand, the peregrine 
has the advantage of pointed wings which make 
for increased wing power and speed, whilst the 
eagle's wings are rounded. On the other hand, 
there is a great similarity between the general 
build and structure of the two birds, and there 
is the fact emphasised by Major Radclyfl^e in the 
letters from which I have quoted above, that, as 
between two birds of difl'erent size but of similar 
shape and make, the larger and heavier bird will 
almost invariably fly faster than the smaller and 
^ Wild Sports and Natural History of the Highlands, by Charles 
St. John, ch. X. p. 131. 
