SULA BASSANA. 4.53 
SULA BASSANA (Linnzus). 
THE GANNET. 
§ 5174. Three.—Bass Rock, 10 June, 1848. “J. W.” 
Bought from George Adams of Cantey Bay near North Berwick, 
10th of June, 1848, on which day I visited the Bass. He rents the 
rock, and beside the profits arising from the sheep and rabbits, and 
parties visiting it, he makes a good sum from the sale of the feathers, 
and of the young birds themselves, which, I was told, yield a 
considerable quantity of oil. He values them at a shilling each, 
and sells the eggs at the same price. They begin to breed at the 
beginning of May, but do not appear to be regular, for I saw young 
birds of very various sizes, some well covered with white down, while 
most were still in black. In a large proportion of nests the egg was 
still unhatched ; but I saw none that was uot very much discoloured, 
though I believe the men knew of some that were newly laid, 
probably by birds that had their nest robbed previously. The nests 
were mostly placed upon the ledges of the cliff, but in several places 
there were patches of them on nearly level ground above; and it was 
very interesting to sit among these without disturbing the birds, 
further than by exciting them to menacing cries and gestures. I 
lifted one off her nest, merely holding out a ram-rod to avert her 
‘beak. Many of them disgorged the half-digested contents of their 
stomach on our approach. The young seemed very helpless and even 
unable to raise their head, or at least I did not see any of the smaller 
ones do so. They were trodden upon, or rather covered by the webs 
of their mother’s feet, without injury. In one instance I saw a 
Gannet alight by a nest on which another was sitting, which then 
immediately left it and waddled to a nest, at a couple of yards’ 
distance, containing an egg and took its seat upon it, while the 
newly-arrived Gannet occupied the nest left. Are Gannets socialists? 
The nests were made of seaweed, almost entirely, and are small for the 
size of the bird. We saw many of them still engaged in building or 
enlarging their nests; at least we saw them flying overhead with 
streamers of seaweed in their beak. The young squirt their 
excrement some distance over the side of the nest. The smell all 
round the Bass is strong of guano. There are not many birds beside 
these Solan Geese. I saw one nest of the Hider Duck containing 
