INTRODUCTION. 



The Gannet, or Solan Goose, which is the subject of this 

 memoir, belongs to the order Steganopodes, a word coined 

 by Ilhger in 1811 for a large group of birds, signifying the 

 union of all the toes in a single web. 



The Steganopodes, a natural group, with a persistent 

 type of pterylosis, are commonly held to include three 

 FamiUes, of A^hich the Pelecanidce is one. The Pelecanidce 

 again, are divisible into the Pelecanince and Phalacrocoracince, 

 and the former of these is again divided into Pelecanus 

 and Sula (Gannets). 



Steganopodes. 



Pelecanidae. Phaethontidae. Fregatidse. 



Pelecaninae. Phalacrocoracinse. 



Pelecanus. Sula . 



Ilhger's generic name of Dysvorus for the Gannets, though 

 employed by Dr. R. B. Sharpe, has not been generally used, 



