WATER BIRDS. 66 



the under surface of the wings and tail which are very light slate. Usually the head, 

 neck and breast are sooty-black, the remainder of the upper parts being slate-color; the 

 bill and feet black. In winter the adult has the forehead, nape and most of the under 

 parts pure ^yhite; the crown, occiput and auricular region mixed black or slaty and white; 

 the back, wings and tail pearl-gray. The young of the year are similar to winter adults, 

 but always have more or less brownish on the upper parts and are rather gray than clear 

 white on the sides below. Length of adult 9.00 to 10.25 inches; wing, 8.25; tail, 3.75 (forked 

 .90 inch); culmen, 1.10. 



Order IV. STEGANOPODES. Totipalmate Swimmers. 



KEY TO FAMILIES. 



A. Bill without visible nostrils but distinctly hooked at tip. B, BB. 

 B. Tail deeply forked. Family 14, Fregatidse, Frigate Birds (not found 



in Michigan). 

 BB. Tail not forked. C, CC. 



C. Bill less than five inches long. Family 12, Phalacrocoraci- 



dse, Cormorants. Page 66. 

 CC. Bill more than ten inches long. Family 13, Pelecanidse Pel- 

 icans. Page 68. 

 AA. Bill not distinctly hooked at tip. D, DD. 



D. With small but distinct nostrils. Family 9, Phaethontidse, Tropic 



Birds (not found in Michigan). 

 DD. Without visible nostrils. E, EE. 



E. Tail fan-shaped, rounded; neck very long and slender. Family 

 11, Anhingidse, Snake Birds (Tropical birds of doubtful 

 occurrence in Michigan. See Appendix). 

 EE. Tail cuneate or wedge-shaped ; neck short and thick. Family 

 10, Sulidae, Gannets. Page 65. 



Family 10. SULID^. Gannets. 



26. Sula bassana (Linn.) Gannet. (117) 



Synonyms: Common Gannet, Soland Goose, Solon Goose. — Pelecanus bassanus, 

 Linn., 1758. — Sula bassana, Briss., Nutt., Aud., and authors generally. — Sula americana, 

 Bonap., 1838. — Pelecanus maculatus, Gmel., 1788 (young). 



The four-toed, fully webbed feet, wedge-shaped tail and large size form 

 a combination which is characteristic, the shape of the tail and the pointed 

 bill without a hooked tip separating it perfectly from the pelicans and 

 cormorants with which it might otherwise be confounded. 



Distribution. — "Coasts of the North Atlantic. Breeds on Bird Rock 

 and Bonaventure Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on islets off the 

 British Islands. Winters from North Carolina coast south to Gulf of 

 Mexico, and on coasts of North Africa, Maderia, and the Canaries; occurs 

 off eastern United States in migration; casual north to Greenland; acci- 

 dental in Indiana and Ontario." (A. 0. U. Check-list, 3d edition). 



The Gannet is a North Atlantic seabird depending for its food solely 

 on fish and rarely found at any distance from the coast. In America 

 it is most abundant in and about the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where doubtless 



