378 THE GANNET 



so late as September 19th, Mr. W. Evans has watched 

 many pairs going through the billing and head-shaking 

 performance. The preliminaries of courtship, which usually 

 accompany sexual activity, are not so noticeable in the 

 Gannet, as in many species of birds, yet Mr. Selous has shown 

 courtship to be strongly developed in the Shag and the 

 Cormorant.* 



Frequent Habit of Gaping. — Although so much has been 

 said about the Gannet's habits, there are still several more 

 points in the economy of this extraordinary bird, without 

 a reference to which no account of it would be complete. 

 Anybody who takes up the fascinating work of bird- watching 

 knows how many little things there are, trivial in themselves, 

 but yet which one does not like to pass over, because they 

 are all parts in the Ufe-history and manners of the bird 

 under study. In the Gannet one of these is a singular 

 action, which is not a very intelligible one, and that is their 

 habit of gaping. Frequently an old bird may be seen open- 

 ing wide its mandibles, whilst seated on its nest — giving 

 a regular gape with them ; and this is usually accompanied 

 by another mysterious performance, which is a shaking of 

 the head rapidly from side to side. The gaping may be 

 conjectured to be due to the want of nostrils, and the ejBfect 

 of heat combined ; for I have often noticed how my tame 



* " Bird Watching " (1901), p. 167. 



