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Show TOWERING BIRDS Altar Bains; Shot In Flight Thar Aseand nd Die In the Air. Why is It that a mallard, a grouse, n quail, and, for tbe matter of that perhaps, per-haps, any bird when wounded in tbe bend during fl)gbt will frequently tower tow-er or mount upward at an acute angle, oftentimes to die In midair and drop dend to tbe earth like a plummet or setting Its wings, come to earth at n long, sloping angle? I remember a curious ense of this kind In connection with n sharp-tall grouse. Wo wero walking through prairie grass well nbovc our knees when n long dlstnuce nhend upon a knoll on tho prnlrlo we espied a sharp-tall sharp-tall grouse, an old cock bird, standing erect in a sort of oasis of short, velvety vel-vety grass not moro than n couple of yards In diameter. We walked quietly along, taking enre not to stnmp our feet upon tbe ground any more than necessary. The bird seemingly wns engrossed with something, some-thing, for with Its back to us it paid no nttcntlon to us whatsoever until we had advanced within about eighty ynrds of it. Turning its bead It sized us up and then began to show symptoms symp-toms of restlessness, first standing on one leg and then upon the other. Tho enrly afternoon sun was shining brightly, bright-ly, nnd the benutlful bird, with neck nnd head erect and body distended upon its restless feet, made nn attractive attract-ive nnd unique picture. The wary bird evidently thought wo wero close enough when, with a spring and n coo coo he darted up in tbo air. My friend, slightly in advance of me, took tbo shot. The bird did not seem to change its course or alter its flight in any wny. Up, up, up nlmost-ln n strnlght line, the bird towered, its wings beating the ..lr nnd propelling it skyward. Wo watched tho towering bird until wc thought it would go out of sight, when its wings ceased to beat nnd became set, ns when alighting upon the ground, Down, down it came, slowly at first and then more rnpldly at nn angle directly di-rectly townrd us, finally falling stono dend at our feet. Picking tho bird up and carefully examining it wo found a single shot bnd penetrated its head. Presumably the nerves of direction in tbc brain were paralyzed and the bird, yet full of life and vigor, beat tbe air and nscended upward. I have seen a mallard do this snme thing in the towering tow-ering line, likewise n qunll. Whnt is the explanation? Charles Crlstadoro, In Forest and Stream. |