Strange tales have been told from time to time of the marvellous powers
of flight possessed by certain Fishes; and while some of these have been
greatly exaggerated, it is nevertheless true that some Fish do possess
that power to a surprising degree, yet only on certain limited lines,
unlike the upward flight of Birds. (See colored plate).
The front fins of the Flying-fish are transformed into wings by which
they are enabled to rise for a few seconds. These wings, however, are
neither long nor powerful, for they act the part of a parachute, rather
than wings.
These curious fins of the Flying-fish are nearly as long as the whole
body; the head is flattened above and on the sides, and the lower part
of the body is covered with a long series of scales; and the mouth is
filled with small pointed teeth.
The Flying-fishes in their own element are harassed by attacks of other
inhabitants of the ocean, and when under the excitement of fear they
take to the air, they are equally exposed to the attack of aquatic
Birds, especially the various species of Gulls. In their leap from the
water, their fins sustain them like parachutes, with which they beat the
air. Mr. Bennett’s description is clear on this point. “I have never,”
he says, “been able to see any percussion of the pectoral fins during
flight; and the greatest length of time I have seen this Fish on the fly
has been thirty seconds by the watch, and the longest flight, mentioned
by Captain Basil Hall, has been two hundred yards, but he thinks that
subsequent observation has extended the space. The usual height of their
flight, as seen above the surface of the water, is from two to three
feet, but I have known them come on board at the height of fourteen feet
and upwards. And they have been well ascertained to come into the chains
of a line-of-battle ship, which is considered to be upwards of twenty
feet. But it must not be supposed that they have the power of raising
themselves into the air after having left their native element; for on
watching them I have often seen them fall much below the elevation at
which they first rose from the water; nor have I ever in any instance
seen them rise from the height to which they first sprang, for I
conceive the elevation they take depends on the power of the first
spring.”
The brilliant coloring of the Flying-fish would seem designed to point
it out to its enemies, against whom it is totally defenceless. A
dazzling silvery splendor pervades its surface. The summit of its head,
its back, and its sides, are of azure blue; this blue becomes spotted
upon the fins and the tail. This Fish is the common prey of the more
voracious Fishes, such as the Shark, and also of the Sea-birds; its
enemies abound in the air and water. If it succeeds in escaping the
Charybdis of the water, the chances are in favor of its coming to grief
in the Scylla of the atmosphere; if it escapes the jaws of the Shark, it
will probably fall to the share of the Sea-gull.
The Dolphin is also a formidable enemy to the much-persecuted
Flying-fish. Captain Basil Hall gives a very animated description of
their mode of attack. He was in a prize, a low Spanish schooner, rising
not above two feet and a half out of the water. “Two or three Dolphins
had ranged past the ship in all their beauty. The ship in her progress
through the water had put up a shoal of these Flying-fish which took
their flight to windward. A large Dolphin which had been keeping company
with us abreast of the weather gangway at the depth of two or three
fathoms, and as usual glistening most beautifully in the sun, no sooner
detected our poor friends take wing than he turned his head towards
them, darted to the surface, and leaped from the water with a velocity
little short, as it seemed to us, of a cannon ball. But though the
impetus with which he shot himself into the air gave him an initial
velocity greatly exceeding that of the Flying-fish, the start which his
fated prey had got enabled them to keep ahead of him for a considerable
time. The length of the Dolphin’s first spring could not be less than
ten yards, and after he fell we could see him gliding like lightning
through the water for a moment, when he again rose, and shot upwards
with considerably greater velocity than at first, and of course to a
still greater distance.
“In this manner the merciless pursuer seemed to strike along the sea
with fearful rapidity, while his brilliant coat sparkled and flashed in
the sun quite splendidly. As he fell headlong in the water at the end of
each leap, a series of circles were sent far over the surface, for the
breeze, just enough to keep the royals and topgallant studding-sails
extended, was hardly felt as yet below.
“The group of wretched Flying-fishes, thus hotly pursued, at length
dropped into the sea; but we were rejoiced to observe that they merely
touched the top of the swell, and instantly set off again in a fresh and
even more vigorous flight. It was particularly interesting to observe
that the direction they took now was quite different from the one in
which they had set out, showing that they had detected their fierce
enemy, who was following them with giant steps along the waves and was
gaining rapidly upon them. His pace, indeed, was two or three times as
swift as theirs, poor little things! and the greedy Dolphin was fully as
quick-sighted; for whenever they varied their flight in the smallest
degree, he lost not the tenth part of a second in shaping his course so
as to cut off the chase; while they, in a manner really not unlike that
of the Hare, doubled more than once upon the pursuer. But it was soon
plainly to be seen that the strength and confidence of the Flying-fish
were fast ebbing; their flights became shorter and shorter, and their
course more fluttering and uncertain, while the leaps of the Dolphin
seemed to grow more vigorous at each bound.
“Eventually this skilful sea-sportsman seemed to arrange his springs so
as to fall just under the very spot on which the exhausted Flying-fish
were about to drop. This catastrophe took place at too great a distance
for us to see from the deck what happened; but on our mounting high on
the rigging, we may be said to have been in at the death; for then we
could discover that the unfortunate little creatures one after another,
either popped right into the Dolphin’s jaws as they lighted on the
water, or were snapped up instantly after.”