NOTES 67 



here and there, all along the coast ; yet, unless in a single instance, 

 the Gannets passed and repassed over those shoals without making 

 any attempt to dash down on the fish. As far as I have been able to 

 observe, the Gannet, when fishing, performs the greater part of the 

 descent with its wings drawn in about half-way, holding them very 

 rigidly, for they can distinctly be seen to quiver owing to their 

 resistance to the air. When 10 or 15 feet from the water they are 

 retracted still further, but only to the same extent as those of a 

 Black-headed Gull when it makes an ungainly attempt to dive. 

 They are never really closed, that is folded along the bird's sides, 

 till the Gannet bobs up on the surface again. In the descent a 

 considerable rotary motion of the bird's body round its long axis 

 is often apparent, to the extent occasionally of about half a circle 

 by the time the water is entered. Professor Newton and Howard 

 Saunders both state that the Gannet dashes perpendicularly with 

 closed wings on its prey. 



By watching Gannets from ground nearly level with their line of 

 flight when they were on the look-out for fish, I have formed the 

 opinion that they seldom dive from a greater height than 100 feet, 

 but usually from a much lower elevation. I have seen an immature 

 bird, at least one year old, dive repeatedly from 12 or 15 feet. It 

 was in too big a hurry to mount into the air in the ordinary way, 

 for no sooner did it get up a short distance than with a slanting 

 plunge it was under the water once more. It seemed to draw in 

 its wings much closer than adult birds do. According to Seebohm, 

 the Gannet very often plunges into the sea from a height of 100 

 yards or more. — John Robertson, Glasgow. 



[During a residence of thirty-two days in the Eddystone Light- 

 house in the autumn of 1901, I had exceptional opportunities for 

 observing the Gannet on its fishing-grounds. These birds fished 

 close to the lighthouse in considerable numbers and with marked 

 success. My point of observation was the gallery, 130 feet above 

 high-water mark, and from it I was enabled to gauge the height 

 from which these birds dived with a degree of accuracy not usually 

 attainable. The water around was remarkably clear, and the 

 Gannets, as a rule, descended from a considerable elevation, but 

 out of many thousands of dives witnessed none exceeded a height of 

 from 130 to 140 feet. It was, however, quite a common occurrence 

 to see a Gannet newly on the wing after a successful dive detect a 

 fish in front of it and near the surface, and in such cases the bird 

 dived from an elevation of a few feet only, not perpendicularly but 

 on the slant, and at as low an angle as 60°. — W. E. C.] 



