AILSA CRAIG 107 



nailed to a board, and there are several anecdotes which 

 I believe to be true of these over-eager birds killing themselves 

 by plunging into boats attracted by the glitter of fresh 

 caught fish in them. As an instance of what seems to us 

 sheer stupidity, Mr. Thomson mentioned his having seen 

 one dash itself against the walls of the lighthouse yard, 

 on a clear, calm day, when there was absolutely nothing to 

 account for such mad behaviour, unless it was suffering 

 from any irritation caused by parasitical Mallofhaga, with 

 which they are infested.* 



We found one unlucky Solan with a broken wing at the 

 foot of the Craig, and two which were either sick or very 

 sleepy, and these my friends captured, but not without 

 difficulty, for they at once made for the water, albeit 

 awkwardly, and we had already discovered that on that 

 element a Gannet swimming is more than a match for a 

 boat. One of these was sent by Mr. Parker to the 

 Zoological Gardens, but not being supplied with enough fish 

 it did not live very long. 



Gannets Enmeshed in Fishing Nets. — Besides perils from 

 yachtsmen, Gannets have something else to contend with 

 in the Firth of Clyde, for they are not infrequently enmeshed 



* A rase of one (lolit)eratoly killing itself against the balcony of 

 a lightluiuse is given by Mr. Barrington (" Migration of Birds," p. 252). 

 No Gannet lias been known to fl.\- against tlie lantern nf .the liglithouse 

 at Ailsa or at the Bass. 



