142 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS. 



the grassy slopes, the sea below, are lilled with birds, 

 those on the land clamouring harshly at the intru- 

 sion, those in the air drifting hither and thither, 

 silent and apparently effortless as huge flakes of 

 living snow. The Gannet commences to breed 

 early in Mav, but nesting does not become general 

 until the middle or even towards the end of the 

 month. From the rough ground near the summit 

 of the cliffs to hundreds of feet down their broken 

 or precipitous sides Gannets' nests may be seen in 

 every suitable spot, sometimes so close together 

 that the brooding birds actually touch each other 

 as they sit upon them. The nest of the Gannet is 

 a rude aifair, dirty and offensive in the extreme, and 

 composed of turf, straw, sea-weed, and any other 

 vegetable refuse obtainable, massed toojether into a 

 conical heap, wet with droppings and slimy from 

 fish. As incubation proceeds many of these struc- 

 tures are trodden out of all semblance to nests by 

 their owners. Each nest contains but a single egg, 

 and the observer will remark how the parent Gannet 

 treats this solitary treasure with the utmost indiffer- 

 ence, often standing upon it whilst barking hoarsely 

 at being; disturbed in its duties. Numbers of fish 

 are lying about in or near the nests, half digested, 

 freshly caught, or rotting in the sun. 



