4 THE GANNET 



To see the Gannet at its best a visit must be made in the 

 summer time to one of its eight British breeding stations, 

 of which no less than seven are on the west coast, which, 

 being the more rocky, has the more attractions for it. Here, 

 any man who has the heart of a naturahst may be promised 

 a spectacle of surpassing interest, which will not disappoint 

 him, however great his anticipations may have been, but 

 of this more presently. Altogether there are only fifteen 

 breeding places of this species in the world, including Lundy, 

 which is, I hope only temporarily, forsaken ; indeed it is 

 probable that the number has never, in historical times, 

 exceeded twenty, and this is fewer than is the case with any 

 other European bird which breeds in companies. As I have 

 only visited three Gannet stations, for an expedition to the 

 Skelligs was a failure owing to weather, I must depend 

 on the information of others for what is to be said of the 

 rest. Here it may be convenient to give a list, in order 

 of the date at which each " Gannetry," if it be permissible 

 to use such a word, was first known to us ; not that it is 

 for a moment implied that most of them had not existed 

 for ages before naturalists had heard about them : — 



Lundy ,^ England, first known in 1274 

 Bass, Scotland ,, . . 1448 



Ailsa „ „ .. 1526 



* At i^resent forsaken. 



