GANNET 9 
Gannet is endowed with the power of sailing in the midst 
of the tempest, nor do the billows as they dash with 
unabated fury against the headlands, stay this  bird’s 
powers as it plunges fearlessly through the angry surf. 
Not only in its great wing-power but also in the manner in 
which it dives, the Gannet differs considerably from the 
preceding two species. The Cormorant and Shag dive only 
from the surface of the water, the Gannet, on the other 
hand, descends suddenly from a considerable height in the 
air with closed wings and almost incredible speed, piercing 
the ocean head-foremost in pursuit of fish. 
Food.—When fishing, Gannets are generally met with 
singly, but where food is plentiful the birds collect into 
companies varying from five to fifty or more in number. 
They prey exclusively on surface-swimming fish, such as 
herrings and mackerel, and the impetus of the _ birds’ 
descent into the water sends the spray high into the air. 
I have a vivid recollection of the first large flock of Gannets 
I saw fishing.' I watched the movements of the birds from 
a steamer. The plunge was so sudden and the splash 
so great, that I almost failed to recognise the form of each 
descending bird, and could well have believed that some 
mighty power was hurling huge boulders into the water 
from overhead. 
Young Gannets are eaten, or sold as food, by the peasants 
in some of the remote districts of Scotland. 
Votce—When wandering over the sea, the Gannet is 
a silent bird, but at its nesting-haunts it is often noisy, 
and several members of the colony may be heard uttering 
a note which may be syllabled carra-crac, carra-crac. 
Nest.—Gannets are highly gregarious in the breeding- 
season, selecting for their nesting-sites majestic rocks, dis- 
tant from land, and several hundreds of feet in height. They 
usually assemble about March at their breeding-stations, 
which they tenant until October. In such places they 
crowd together in countless numbers, and their white forms 
against the dark rocky islands afford a most impressive 
spectacle. When a colony is approached, hundreds of birds 
appear on the wing, some wheeling gracefully about, others 
taking sharp swooping turns towards the cliffs, as though 
anxious to see that their homes and families were not being 
intruded upon. Large numbers of nests are placed on the 
ledges of cliff-faces, others on elevated platforms and on the 
tops of stacks. 
' In Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. 
