112 MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



average length of 2.72 inches. This makes a difference of nearly an inch in 

 the length of the whole leg. The white rump is of course noticeable and the 

 light gray of the secondary wing coverts, contrasting with the sooty black of 

 the rest of the wings, is also apparent. 



[115] Sula sula (Linn). Booby. A tropical and subtropical bird, recorded by Putnam * for 

 Essex County as "rare." This record has been "expunged." 2 



36 [117] Sula bassana (Linn.). 

 Gannet. 



Common transient visitor ; March 26 to June 7 ; August 28 to Decem- 

 ber 21. 



At times the Gannet is a common bird off the shore, especially in the fall 

 migration, and is seen singly and in small or large flocks. Its stay with us in 

 the autumn is coincident with that of the herring, which at this season swarm in 

 the waters of Ipswich Bay. I have seen a hundred and on one occasion at least 

 two hundred Gannets about a mile off the beach at Ipswich, and most interesting 

 it is to watch them fishing. This, in their case, is far from being a quiet pur- 

 suit or a contemplative man's recreation ; much more does it suggest a naval 

 battle, for the birds hurl themselves at the water like bombs, sending the spray 

 up to a great height. In fact, the comparison might also be made with a school 

 of whales, as the spurts of spray resemble the spouting of these animals. The 

 Gannets follow the schools of herring and actually bombard the water in rapid 

 succession, or even several at the same time. The process in detail is as 

 follows : the Gannet flies rapidly over the water and begins to soar at a height 

 of from 30 to 100 feet, often rising just before the plunge. At the plunge the 

 head is pointed down, the tail up ; the wings are partly spread so that the bird 

 appears like a great winged arrow. The speed of the descent is great, and the 

 wings are closed just before reaching the water, which spurts up to a height of 

 from five to fifteen feet. After the waters have subsided following the splash, 

 and all is still, the bird suddenly and buoyantly comes to the surface, the head 

 and neck stretched out first. It then sits quietly on the water for a half minute 

 or so to finish swallowing the prey and to rest, and then slowly and laboriously 

 rises to windward, with its long neck and tail stretched to their full extent. 



1 F. W. Putnam : Proc. Essex Inst., vol. 1, p. 221, 1856. 



2 R. H. Howe, Jr., and G. M. Allen : The Birds of Massachusetts, p. 59, 1901. 



