THE GANNET 34] 



pursues its prey iu the water, swimming and diving with the 

 greatest ease, but the Gannet secures its food by plunging 

 from the sky. Gifted with amazing powers of vision, it can 

 see the fish when it is flying high above the water, and 

 pounces down upon them with unerring certainty. From the 

 summit of the cliff you may see the birds flying round and 

 round at a great height. It is their feeding time ; the waters 

 are teeming with a shoal of herrings, and the Gannets are 

 intent on securing them. Observe how the bird poises itself 

 for a moment, then, like a piece of brilliant white marble, it 

 dashes downwards into the ocean, disappearing from view, and 

 leaving a mass of foam to mark the place of its descent. In 

 a few moments the Gannet appears on the surface, and flies 

 upwards into the air again to prepare for another plunge. 

 ISTumbers of birds may be seen swimming on the surface of 

 the water, but they are not fishing — this they only do in the 

 way I have just described. The Gannet swallows its capture 

 directly, and fish are never conveyed to the rocks in its beak. 

 The Gannet keeps its sitting mate well supplied with food, 

 conveying it to the rocks in its gullet and then disgorging it, 

 leaving it to be eaten when required. Far more fish are 

 brought to the rocks than are eaten. The food of the Gannet 

 is composed entirely of fish, such as haddocks, whitings, 

 herrings, and sprats. The bird is a voracious feeder, and often 

 gorges to such an extent as to be incapable of flight. The 

 Gannet never visits fresh water, nor does it ever fly over 

 the land. It is a bird of the ocean alone, and as soon as its 

 young are reared forsakes the land entirely, and wanders 

 far and wide over the wild waste of waters in quest of its 

 finny prey. 



