THE PELICANS QOQ 



usually possible to recognise the sex of breeding pairs during the summer 

 by the pecked condition of the back of the neck of the female. The 

 gannet only lays one egg, although two have been recorded. The 

 majority of gannet eggs are laid in April and May. A second egg is 

 laid if the first is taken or lost soon after being laid. There is no brood 

 spot, the egg being incubated under the webbed feet; one foot is 

 carefully placed over the egg and the other is rested over the first, the 

 whole being covered by the bird as it sinks on to the nest. The gannet 

 egg hatches after six weeks, those of cormorant and shag in less than 

 four. The nestling is entirely dark blue, without down, blind and almost 

 helpless. It is kept warm for the first seven days or so in the same way 

 as the egg is incubated: that is, by the feet cupped over it, with the 

 adult body feathers as an outer "quilt." But this special brooding 

 ceases after 10-14 days. The early stages of feeding show a remarkable 

 tenderness and care of the small chick by the large and somewhat 

 clumsy adult. The wobbly head and neck of the new-born chick is 

 scooped up in the wide-open adult bill, which is pressed sideways 

 over the nest and apparently steadied in this position, while the semi- 

 liquid partly-digested fish is mouthed down by the half-hidden 

 chick. 



The nestling is not able to open its eyes until it is at least a week old, 

 when the first down begins to appear; this is white on the gannet and 

 boobies, and black on the cormorants. Voice comes to the chick at 

 the same time, and it is able to hold up its head more steadily. When 

 hungry, the chick now makes a soft throaty call, and reaches up to 

 bill the adult invitingly. Growing still stronger, it is able to reach 

 further into the distended gullet of the adult, until when it is between 

 fifteen and twenty-five days old, the young bird's head actually 

 disappears into the distended upper throat of the adult. Compare this 

 method of feeding (with stored and largely undigested fish) from the 

 elastic gullet of the gannet, booby and pelican, with that of feeding 

 in the petrels, already described, in which the adult has a non-elastic 

 throat, and the semi-digested food is pumped up from the proventri- 

 culus and carefully controlled and doled out through the constricted 

 throat aperture. 



The gannet chick, now covered in a thick white down, preens 

 constantly at this stage, especially after meals; and clouds of down 

 float over a large gannetry from June to September. Meanwhile 

 the supply of fish has become larger in quantity and size, until at 

 thirty to forty days old the young gannet is swallowing quite substantial 



