158 PELECANTD^. 



baked, are used for stuffing beds ; about 100 birds producing 

 a stone of feathers. 



The birds form their nest, which seldom exceeds six or 

 eight inches in height, of a mass of sea-weeds, particularly 

 the Fuciis digitatus, and grass, upon which they deposit a 

 single egg, which, when first laid, is of a chalky white, tinged 

 with pale blue, but soon becomes soiled ; average measure- 

 ments 3"25byl'9in. During incubation, in consequence 

 of being unmolested, the Gannets become very tame; and, 

 where the nests are easily accessible, will allow themselves 

 to be stroked by the hand without resistance, or any show 

 of impatience, except a low guttural note which sounds 

 like grog, grog. Sometimes the old birds are very vociferous, 

 and as they are continually interfering with each other and 

 taking advantage of the absence of their neighbours to 

 pilfer the materials of their nests, a constant noise is kept 

 up amongst them, which may be expressed by the syllables 

 carra, carra, crac, era. Curious materials are sometimes 

 found in the nests of this species; Martin was told at St. 

 Kilda that a red coat had been found in one nest, and a 

 brass dial, an arrow, and some Molucca beans in another. 



From an excellent monographical account of this species 

 by Dr. R. 0. Cunningham (Ibis, 1866, pp. 1-23), it appears 

 that the earliest reference to it is in the Anglo-Saxon 

 Chronicle, in which, in the account of the events recorded 

 in A.D. 975,Oslac is said to have been driven into exile "over 

 the rolling waves — over the ganet-bath." " Solendae " are 

 alluded to by John de Fordun in his ' Scotichronicon ' as 

 breeding on the Bass Rock; and Hector Boethius gives details 

 of the habits of the " Solands " in his * Scotorum Historiae,' 

 published in 1526. The species was subsequently noticed 

 by Turner, Gesner, Clusius, William Harvey, Ray, Wil- 

 lughby and Martin : to say nothing of mere copyists, or of 

 later writers. The name Gannet is doubtless a modification 

 of the ancient British gans, which corresponds with the old 

 High German kans, the Greek ■^rjv, the Latin anser, and 

 the Sanskrit hansa, all of which signify a Goose ; but the 

 origin of the name Solan or Soland, in its various forms, is 



