122 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



plumage until it is three years old ; others place the 

 age limit at four. 



Situation and Locality. On the shelves and 

 ledges of precipitous sea cliffs and rocks. The 

 birds breed in colonies, and engage every available 

 situation capable of accommodating a nest. On 

 the Bass Rock, Ailsa Craig, St. Kilda, and other 



suitable places on the 

 islands lying to the north 

 and west of Scotland; 

 and in one or two places 

 off the Welsh and Irish 

 coasts. Wilson, the Amer- 

 ican ornithologist, after 

 visiting the above-named 

 breeding haunts, com- 

 puted that the birds 

 nesting upon them killed 

 more herrings in the 

 course of a year than all 

 the fishermen in Scotland. 

 Materials. Seaweed, 

 bits of turf, moss, and 

 grass, sometimes in large quantities. Like rooks, 

 these birds frequently steal materials from each 

 other's nests during the absence of the owners in 

 search of more seaweed, moss, or grass ; and I 

 have on several occasions seen great battles waged 

 as a result of the discovery of a thief. 



Egg. One. White or bluish-white, covered like 

 that of the Cormorant, with a thick coat of lime, 

 which quickly becomes soiled and dirty by being 

 trodden upon. Size about 3 by 2 inches. 

 Time. May and June. 

 Remarks. Resident, but subject to much local 



GANNET AND YOUNG. 



