The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1912-12-05
Man and
the Bird

OeSeoeoeO~S4f@NF@%S~@
Mans conquest Of space BY heavier
than-air machines and his difficulties
! in controlling his mechanisms IN vary
| ing currents and eddies have natural
ly aroused interest In the doings Of
Ibis most easly-studied prototypes
/ the birds. Although bird is far bet
ter equipped than man, even In the
most perfect and powerful flying ma
| chine vet invented, to cope with swirl
Ing gusts and sudden blasts, few feath-
cred creatures care to fly during
storm.
Drexel says: "The aeroplane has it's
| limitations, and they are so far very
narrow ones" II this be true 0f the
mechanical power, whats OF the guild
ing intelligence behind It? writes
Richard Kearton In TheaSphere. Man
has to conceive q situation and com
! municate his viii through his limbs
to his mechanism. whereas bird IN
stinctively throws it's will into It's
wings and tail, which is a much short
4 er path to results.
Now let us glance for aMmoment at
the relative speeds Of mental percep-
ton In man and bird. For long
series Of years have Undergone q
severe training in quick mental per
ception and at the crucial moment
setting rapidly-answerlng mechanical
! contriyances In motion. and have no
i hesitation in stating that the powers
OF the most alert human being when
compared with those Of bird are az
{ the speed Of snail to that Of a Derby
winner Some idea OF q birds mar
velous rapidity Of perception and re-
sultant action may be gained when
state that have exposed dozens Of
/ Photographic plates with my focal
plane index showing that was work
ing at a speed Of the 20Oth Part Of 9
second before secured q picture of
crested tit on a branch near it's nest,
! ing hole, Even in such short space
4 OF time the bird was able to conceive
the sound and set Its wings in motion
before the shutter Of tho camera
closed.
No Flights In Rough Weather.
Now II such a wonderfully-eQuipped
creature as a bird finds difficulty In
flying in strong currents and eddies.
how much greater must these same
difficulties be for the airman. Every.
body has seen large fiocks Of starlings
going through their astonishing aerial
evolutions before retiring to rest for
the night and marveled at the slEill
with which they avoided colliding
with each other whilst wheeling
twisting and swooping. This illus
trates the extreme rapidity OF their
mental perception and it's translation
into action, but In spite of these very
useful qualifications the birds do not
risk such exhibition displays Of flight
during very stormy weather. Mems
bers of a pack Of grouse flushed DUR
ing a gale Of wind have been known
to collide and kill each other in mid
air.
! 1 remember on one occasion putting
grouse up near to stone wall dur
ing very gusty weather The bird
had not proceeded far before 1t was
caught by a terrific side blast ana
hurled against the wall Falling to
the ground 1t rose again, but instead OF
attempting to continue its flight pars
allel with the fence, took course at
right angles to 1t, and by a series OF
vigorous wing beats forced its way
straight up into the eye OF the wind,
and then, turning right around, sailed
away over the wall on outstretched
wings Grouse, like seagulls, appear
to be able to read the signs of CONF
Ing storm, and frequently seek shell.
ter before the breaking OF the blast.
/ have known them to leave the ex-
posed hilltoDs and descend even to
the meadows right at the bottom OF
Yorkshire dale before the oncoming
Of an exceptionally heavy gale accoms
panied by hail and rain.
Island Birds In Hurricane.
Some years ago whilst In the outer
Hebrides / noticed thousands of sea-
gulls OF different species sitting quite
still in a pasture close to the Atlantic.
Every head was turned toward the sea-
from which moderate breeze was
blowing. BY the middle ~ the after
noon the wind had Increased TO such
hurricane force that pieces Of foam
as large as mans head we're being
carried from the beach quarter Of a
mile inland, and not a bird Of ann
kind was to be seen on the wing Anx-
lOus to see how my feathered friends
were faring during such exosptiShas
weather struggled forth, Sometimes
progressing on 2y tset, and at others,
10 exposed places, on my heads and
knees / found common terms shell
tering behind boulders at consider
able distance from the shore Arrlv-
Ing at a vertical hole some 70 feet I'M
diameter and so feet in deptA in the
roof Of long sea cave, was astonish-
cd to discover q peregrine falcon sit
ting In the company Of about 40 rock
doves. The storm had actually made
the lion lie down with the lambs.
There was q great clatter Of wings aa
the terrihed birds rose from their
lnIaoa ~ shalFar Frba v,arooesIS,. y,,o.-.