The bird is
able to fill each tiny quill with air, so that its body becomes like a
balloon, and it rises high above the roofs of the houses; then, like the
fish, when it wishes to sink, it can breathe out all the air again, and so
constantly change its weight, and fly, now high, now low, faster than any
train can rush or ship sail.
There is a wonderful bird which sailors have seen a thousand miles from
land. It is called the Frigate-bird, and has never been known to rest on
the sea; it lives upon sea-creatures, but makes its nest on shore. Each of
its wings, if stretched out as when the bird is flying, measures more than
the height of a man; yet even such an enormous bird as this does not sink
down by its own weight, but flies mile after mile upon its strong wings,
every feather of which unites strength and lightness, never resting till
its airy voyage is over, and it finds its nest. It is said that when storms
sweep over the sea, this "ocean eagle" mounts upward until it has reached
the calm which lies above the storm, and so sails upon its untroubled way.
The feathers of birds are to them what its scales are to the fish, and
hair and wool to other animals--a protection. They are not only light and
strong, but warm, and by their means, as a bird soars into colder regions
of air, it is protected from the cold: while for aquatic birds there is a
special provision--by pressing with their beaks an oil-gland near the tail
they can waterproof their feathers! Now look again at your dead bird; you
will see that the wings and tail are formed of quills, while the surface
of the body is covered with short feathers--even the ear being protected
by a little tuft--and all the spaces between are filled with the softest,
warmest down.
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