192 By Leafy Ways. 



swallowed the head and neck of a tame duck before 

 the unhappy bird was rescued by a bystander. 



A more expert diver even than the cormorant is its 

 white relative the gannet The breeding haunts of 

 this bird are limited to a few stations, all of which 

 are on the Scotch coast, except one on Lundy and 

 one in Kerry. The largest colony, on the island 

 called Sula Sgeir, near Lewis, is estimated to number 

 300,000 birds. 



The gannet lives on fish, and the quantity of 

 herrings consumed annually by the united efforts of 

 the birds on the five northern stations exceeds the 

 entire take of the whole fishing fleet of Scotland, 

 artd is said to fall little short of one thousand 

 millions. 



The gannet moves south in the autumn, and is to 

 be seen during the winter months along our southern 

 shores. 



When in pursuit of its prey it poises in the air like 

 a hawk, and, falling with a force that strikes up the 

 water all round it in a cloud of foam, it disappears for 

 some seconds below the surface. By floating a fish 

 upon a small plank, the bird is often killed by the 

 fishermen, who use its flesh merely for bait. Not 

 noticing the plank, the gannet swoops down upon the 

 fish, drives its beak deep into the board, and breaks 

 its neck with the shock. 



Gannets are often taken in the herring-nets, some- 

 Limes at extraordinary depths. As many as ninety 



