BIRDS OF ESSEX COUNTY. I 13 



Gaining a height of thirty or more feet, it swings around to leeward, and is soon 

 soaring and plunging again. 



Of eight observations made with a stop-watch on the length of time that this 

 bird remained under water after the plunge, the limits were 4 and 7 seconds, 

 the average being 6\ seconds. I also timed them in three descents from a 

 height of perhaps sixty feet and found it to be i|, 1^, and 1 second, respectively, 

 from the beginning of the descent to the time when they struck the water. 

 This would indicate that the bird actually throws itself downward, and not 

 merely drops by gravitation as the distance traveled is too great for such a quick 

 descent by gravity alone. This is apparent without actual measurement, and is 

 also shown by the fact that the birds sometimes descend quickly at an angle, 

 two often aiming at the same spot. How they avoid annihilating each other 

 seems marvellous. The height of the descent is of course very difficult to 

 judge, but my estimates are based on comparisons with the masts of schooners 

 equally distant. The height of the splash was compared with that of spar buoys 

 near the fishing grounds. As with all other sea birds at a distance, observations 

 were made with a telescope. 



I once had an opportunity to watch this bird on the beach, a single bird near 

 a flock of Herring Gulls. It was evidently taking its ease, lying out on the 

 sand, with one outstretched wing. Later it walked about. When first seen 

 with neck outstretched I mistook it for a Goose, but soon saw it was a Solan 

 Goose or Gannet. It is interesting, as Newton shows in his Dictionary of Birds, 

 that Solan has the same derivation as Sida, and Gannet comes from Gans — a 

 Goose. The extension and retraction of the neck of the Gannet is seen when it 

 is flying as well as when on the ground. 



There is a mounted adult Gannet in the rooms of the Union Boat Club, at 

 Boston, that was caught at Marblehead in the "early summer" about twenty 

 years ago by Mr. Wm. S. Eaton. The bird was sailed up to on the water, 

 struck on the head with a boat hook, and easily captured. 



The Gannet somewhat resembles a large Gull. It is, however, considerably 

 larger than a Herring Gull while its wing feathers, black as if dipped in ink, 

 and its long pointed tail and bill easily distinguish it. Its back is snowy white, 

 instead of blue-gray as in the Gull. The bare yellow skin extending from the 

 base of the bill towards the eye can sometimes be made out with a glass. In 

 the autumn, some of the birds are in gray and brown immature plumage, yet 

 their general shape distinguishes them. The most characteristic thing about 

 Gannets, however, is their manner of fishing. 



