Joan Maxwell, age 9, of Imperial Beach, Calif., for her question:
What makes a flying fish jump?
Andy loves to watch the flying fish off the shores of Southern California. From the island of Catalina you can take a boat trip by night and watch them fly by searchlight or moonlight. As the pretty creatures zoom this way and that through the air, they look for all the world like a troupe of gauzy winged pixies and fairies.
Most fishes spend their lives in the watery world of the sea. But the flying fishes zoom above the waves and take off on graceful flights through the air. These fellows have extra large and gauzy fins that serve as wings. When they leave the waves, the fins open like dainty fans and take the flying fishes riding along like miniature gliders. Some experts claim that the pretty creatures do not fly by flapping their wings as the birds do. But many of us have seen their wings shiver and shake and vibrate like the wings of a zooming dragonfly.
Most of their trips above the water are made because the flying fishes are afraid. Danger lurks below in the water, and the little fliers take to the air to escape. The different kinds of flying fish like to live in the warm oceans of the world, and they share these seas with many hungry monsters. The playful porpoise eats flying fish and so does the greedy shark.
The flying fishes know when their huge enemies are moving nearby through the water. This is when they wriggle their strong tails to get up speed, leap up from the water and make their swift flights into the air. The porpoise is a smart animal and often he expects the dainty creatures to take flight. He follows their shadows that fall on the surface of the water and manages to be there with his mouth open when they flop back into the sea.
When you watch the flying fish above the waves off Southern California there may be porpoises or sharks nearby. Flocks of the pretty creatures often fly around boats because they mistake a moving boat for a prowling enemy. Sometimes a flying fish takes a flight to escape a shark and forgets that he has other enemies in the air. He may escape the shark, only to be eaten by a hungry sea gull.
As a rule a flying fish takes to the air because he is scared of his hungry foes in the water. But the big gurnard is a spiky flying fish with few enemies who want to eat him. He flies for fun, and we suspect that other flying fishes also make some of their trips into the air just for fun.
Flying fishes make their best flights on breezy days. When the wind is strong they bank and curve like squadrons of toy gliders, zoom their highest and stay longer above the waves. Perhaps many of these trips are made because flying fish enjoy breezy weather. On calm days they tend to stay below the waves, even when a boat moves through the water.