132 THE GANNET 



The taking of the adult Gannets was not of quite so much 

 importance in the eyes of the St. Kildians, yet they were 

 freely eaten, partly because, as the Rev. Neil Mackenzie 

 declares,* they were easy to catch asleep, and this 

 especially after a windy day, which they generally spent 

 in gathering grass on the larger islands for their nests. 

 " There is always," says Dr. Joseph Wiglesworth, " a 

 sentinel awake for every group of Gannets, and the success 

 or failure of the expedition hangs entirely on the capture 

 of the sentinel. The men creep up very quietly to the spot, 

 and take the opportunity of seizing the sentinel when he 

 is off his guard, picking at his breast or preening his feathers ; 

 he is seized by the bill and his neck broken by throwing his 

 head back. If the sentinel is disposed of all the other 

 sleeping Gannets which are lying with their heads under their 

 wings can be seized and killed without difficulty, provided 

 no noise is made. As many as two or three score may thus 

 often be taken one after the other, "t If, on the other hand, 

 the sentinel is not caught, the birds hear the men and are 

 soon wide awake and off. It is perhaps more correct to 

 speak of them as hard of hearing, than as slumbering. I 

 have often made experiments with my tame ones when 

 their heads were tightly tucked into a division of the 



* "Annals Scottish N. H.," 1905, p. 144. 

 •j- "St. Kilda and Its Birds," p. 51. 



