14 Dr. R. 0. Cunniugham on the Solan Goose. 



of the Solan Goose in the edition of his Itineraries published by 

 the Ray Society and edited by Dr. Lankester, we are told, 

 though no authority for the statement is given, that " the Gannet, 

 Sula alba, should be written Solent Goose, i.e., a channel goose"*. 

 The geographical distribution of the Solan Goose is extensive, 

 although its breeding-places are far from numerous. On the 

 coasts of Great Britain and Ireland it appears probable that it 

 is a constant resident, though varying its stations at different 

 times of the year. The localities in which it breeds are limited 

 to Lundy Island, off the coast of Devon, in the British Channel ; 

 the Skelig Isles, on the coast of Kerry, in the west of Irelandf; 

 St. Kilda J, the most distant of the Outer Hebrides ; the Stack 

 of Suliskerry, not far from the Orkneys ; Ailsa Craig, at the 

 mouth of the Firth of Clyde ; and, last, though not least, the 

 Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. Among those parts of the 

 kingdom where it is frequently met with, though it does not 

 breed, are off the coast of Cornwall and in the English Channel 

 generally, various portions of the coasts of Scotland, and the 

 Orkney Isles, where, according to Low, it is very abundant, 

 fishing in great numbers in the numerous bays with which they 

 are indented. Beyond the British Isles the Solan Goose enjoys 

 a wide range, being extensively spread over the northern regions 

 of the Old and New Worlds. In the north of Europe its breed- 

 ing-stations are Myggenes, the most westerly of the Faeroe 

 Isles, and various small islands off the coast of Iceland, of which 

 Grimsey, the Reykjanes Fuglasker, and some of the Vest- 

 mannaeyjar are the principal. It is occasionally met with off 

 the coast of Norway §. Southwards it appears on the shores of 



* [This appears to be a suggestion of Yan-ell's, who contributed the 

 ornithological remarks inserted by Dr. Lankester, and is repeated by that 

 author (B. B. 3rd ed. iii. p. 493, note). It seems at least as probable that 

 the " Solent " took its name from the bird. — Ed.] 



t [It has also been supposed that the Gannet breeds on the Stags of 

 Broadhaven, off the west of Mayo (Thompson's B. Irel. iii, p. 2G4, note). 

 —Ed.] 



\ [The most recent, as well as the most detailed account of this station 

 (which, however, is actually on the islet of Borrera) is that given by Sir 

 William Milner in the ' Zoologist ' for 1848 (pp. 2054-2062).— Ed.] 



§ Cf. Ibis, 18(35, p. 497, note. 



