72 THE GANNET 



we approached within a pace of them. The nests were in- 

 variably of seaweed, with occasionally a little grass, not so 

 well-built as those of Cormorants. Each usually contained 

 one egg or young bird, but in two instances I saw nests 



THE BULL. 



containing two eggs each. On emptying one of these pairs 

 I found one egg fresh, the other decidedly sat upon, so that 

 they may have been laid by different birds. Most of the 

 eggs, from their soiled appearance, must have been sat 

 upon some time. The naked black young, newly-hatched, 

 contrasted quaintly with those that had assumed the white 

 downy covering which added greatly to their apparent 



