454 ENGLISH BIRD LIFE 



on the English coasts, nesting in several localities, 

 but the remaining three are of the rarest occur- 

 rence. 



The Gannet is one of the most local of British 

 sea-fowl in the choice of a nesting station. In 

 England the only breeding site selected is on 

 Lund}^ Island; on the Scottish coast, including the 

 cliffs and rock-islands of the Hebrides, only five 

 stations are known. On these, however, the birds 

 congregate in vast numbers, and from these centres 

 they scour the seas in all directions in pursuit of 

 the fish on which they prey. 



The nest is formed of sea-weed and grass, and 

 the single egg is white faintly tinged with blue. 

 Young Gannets are largely used for food, and 

 from two to three thousand birds are sometimes 

 collected from one station. W^hen the young are 

 hatched they are nearly black, but as the vears go 

 by they pass through various changes, their 

 mottled brown hues growing lighter and lighter, 

 until at length, in their sixth year, they attain full 

 adult plumage of pure white save for the tinge of 

 saffron yellow on the neck and the jetty blackness 

 of the wing-tips. It is a most interesting thing to 

 watch the movements of these sea-fowl when 

 engaged in fishing. Sometimes the calm face of 

 the sea is seen to be broken by a sudden ripple. 

 For a few moments an area of fifty yards or more 

 is stirred by the rushing of innumerable forms as 

 the vast shoals of herring are forced to the surface 

 by the inroads of hungry fish beneath. Billet, 

 dog-fish and a host of others follow the shoal. Now 



