THE SOLA.N GOOSE. 



of the falls near that place ; and disappearing right under 

 water for an instant, he reappeared and flew off with 

 a large fish, which we believe to have been a trout, 

 quite 2\ or 3 Ibs weight We could see the fish 

 struggling and kicking, as the daring bird flew off 

 with his prize over the tops of the surrounding trees. 



The feats of some sea-fowl in this respect, of course 

 exceed anything that a land bird could possibly effect, 

 but it is not easy to get near enough to see exactly 

 what is done. It is however quite worth while, and 

 most curious to watch the gannet or Solan goose, fish- 

 ing upon our coasts, when the modus operandi can 

 sometimes be pretty clearly observed. These birds, 

 like most of the birds of prey, as a rule hunt either 

 singly or in pairs; it is rare to see several acting in 

 concert while fishing. Sometimes however, large com- 

 panies may be seen assembled on sea-girt rocks, 

 especially during the breeding season ; for this purpose 

 the most inaccessible cliffs and reefs are usually selected, 

 where the nests are secure from molestation. 



There are five of these breeding stations for gannets 

 in and near Scotland Ailsa Craig, St. Kilda, Sules- 

 kier (marked on most maps as " North Barra "), Stark 

 of Suleskerry, and the Bass rock in the Frith of Forth. * 



The numbers on the Bass rock have been computed 

 to be from ten to twenty thousand, and on Ailsa Craig 

 at least as many more; and at these places according 

 to Mr. Robert Gray the extraordinary spectacle of 2000 

 to 3000 gannets fishing together may occasionally be 

 seen, when as Mr. Gray very truly remarks, " there 

 cannot be a more extraordinary ornithological spec- 



* The Birds of Great Britain, by John Gould, F.R.S., Vol. v. 

 'The Gannet." 



