Word: flightless
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When discussing Brigadier General James H. Doolittle [TIME, June 1], you state: "He was an early member of the Quiet Birdmen, the group of flyers who set themselves apart from the kiwi, an almost extinct flightless bird, and from the 'Modock,' legendary aviation term for a 'bird that flies backwards to keep the dust out of its eyes...
...made the first complete blind flight. A second lieutenant in World War I, he chafed at being kept at San Diego as an instructor. He was an early member of the Quiet Birdmen, the group of flyers who set themselves apart from the kiwi, an almost, extinct flightless bird, and from the "modock," legendary aviation term for a "bird that flies backwards to keep the dust out of its eyes...
...since 1844 has a Great Auk (Alca impennis) trod the earth. It was a large flightless sea bird, slightly smaller than a goose and more docile. An expert swimmer and diver, its feet hurt so much that it often lay stretched prone on the rocks. The Auk laid only one egg a year but no two eggs were ever alike in size, shape or color...
...collected hitherto unknown species of flightless mountain beetles, some unusual ground insects, some fine river-living beetles from 3000-4000 feet; some frogs peculiar to the region from 5000 feet to the summit; some reptiles from 3000-5000 feet; and six peripatus, a caterpillar-like insect which lives in damp tropical regions...