66 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



NOTES. 



Birds and Aeroplanes. — In Mr Evans' paper on " Birds and 

 Aeroplanes " in the Scottish Naturalist for February, all the 

 references are to birds being alarmed by aeroplanes, and flying 

 azvay from them. An interesting example of the converse 

 phenomenon came under my observation here recently. On 

 Wednesday, 20th October 191 5, three military biplanes from an east 

 coast station flew over Perth, leaving again in a south-easterly 

 direction. One of them flew away over Kinnoull Hill, and as it 

 did so I could watch it from my library window in the Museum. 

 As it passed over the river, a flock of about a dozen gulls rose in the 

 air ■A.ndi followed it as quickly as they could fly. They continued 

 following it till it passed out of sight. This appeared to me to be 

 an evident case of curiosity, the birds being attracted by a new 

 creature flying through the air. This occurred about three o'clock 

 in the afternoon. — Henry Coates, Perthshire Natural History 

 Museum. 



Notes on the Gannet. — At Kilchattan Bay, Bute, in the 

 second half of September 191 5, numerous Gannets were to be seen 

 daily, busily engaged in fishing operations. I was interested to 

 notice that they were often molested by the larger Gulls, particularly 

 by immature Herring Gulls. When the Gannet reappeared on the 

 surface of the water after its dive, and just as it was about to take 

 wing again, one or two Gulls would frequently fly towards it, with 

 the intention, evidently, of obtaining share of the Gannet's catch. 

 This move on the Gull's part apparently alarmed the Gannet, for, 

 if it were still on the water, it would flounder hurriedly along the 

 surface for a considerable distance, uttering its raucous garrag, 

 garrag, ere it was able to rise in the air and get away ; but if it had 

 already got up a few feet, it escaped by taking a glancing plunge 

 beneath the waves, and then, on coming up, behaving pretty much 

 as in the first instance. 1 could not see that the Gulls gained any- 

 thing by their attention. All the same they were most persistent, 

 and the young Herring Gulls often uttered the cheeping cry which 

 fledgling Gulls use when pestering their parents for food. 



Shoals of mackerel frequently broke the surface of the water 

 with a sound like that of hail falling on a pond, or the breaking of 

 a slight swell on a pebbly beach. This sound was plainly audible 

 at a distance of several hundred yards. From the high ground I 

 could see patches of troubled water, indicating shoals of mackerel 



