286 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS 



sicla-n, i.e. sula (gannet) +n (the), the article being 

 suffixed, as usual in Scandinavian languages. John 

 Major, writing of the Bass Rock in 1521, refers to 

 "the multitude of great ducks" there, "which for 

 the sake of distinction are called solans." Hector 

 Boece in 1527 alludes to "the crag callit the Bas," 

 on which might be seen " an incredible noumer of 

 soland geis," and mentions also Ailsa Craig, "quhair 

 siclik plente of soland geis is." Bishop Leslie in 

 1578 refers to "a sey guse, commonlie now ane 

 solande guse" adding, " in the Basse they abund 

 maist, in Elissa nocht sa mekle." Farther on he 

 again mentions Ailsa, which " abundes in solend 

 geis, and monie uthiris sey foulis." Donald Munro 

 in 1549 writes of Elsay and its " aboundance of 

 soland geese" but in his description of the isles of 

 Rum and Eigg calls them ''solan geise." Here we 

 have an early example of the modern spelling, a 

 curious variation of which, namely, Sollem goose, is 

 to be found in the Household Book of Lord William 

 Howard of Naworth, 1633. By Willughby and Ray, 

 in 1678, the bird is called the Soland goose. The 

 modern variation Solent goose, suggesting a false 

 derivation, cannot be defended. 



The Gannet is a resident species, and at its breed- 

 ing stations extremely numerous. These are: — Lundy 

 Island, in the Bristol Channel ; Grassholme Island, 

 Pembrokeshire, N.W, of Milford Haven ; Ailsa 

 Craig, off Ayrshire ; St. Kilda, in the Outer Hebrides; 

 Suliskerry, to the west of Hoy, in Orkney ; the 

 Stack, 40 miles west of Stromness ; the Bass Rock, 



