PELICANIDA. 565 
their snowy white plumage conspicuous against a 
dark cloud, or sparkling in the clear blue sky, every 
now and then one shooting from amongst the rest 
down to the sea, with almost incredible rapidity, and 
with force enough to throw the spray as high as the 
mast of an ordinary fishing-boat; others just skim- 
ming over the water, and even then making a sudden 
dash down, as an unwary fish passes within shot. 
An ordinary gale of wind does not seem to trouble 
the Gannets much, as I] have seen them on such 
occasions dash into the white water on Teignmouth 
or Exmouth Bar, when one would have thought it 
impossible to see anything below the surface, and 
they must, moreover, have been in considerable 
danger of being rolled over by a breaking wave on 
rising to the surface again. Although the Gannet in 
his dash down into the sea puts on steam enough to 
carry him to a considerable depth in the water,—for 
he is often some little time out of sight,—I do not 
believe he ever dives, in the ordinary sense of that 
word, either when in search of food or to avoid 
danger, even if wounded: the body appears to me 
too light and buoyant for that. 
At Lundy, where, as I have before said, the Gan- 
nets have a small breeding station, they keep very 
much apart from the rest of the birds, in a small 
portion of the northern end of the island, and their 
nests appeared to be lower down and nearer the sea 
than those of the Gulls, Guillemots, &c. This is 
3 C 
