378 THE GANNET 



stated that these also serve to lessen the shock of the bird's impact 

 against the water when it descends to fish. 1 



On land, excepting always cliff-ledges or rocks, from which it can 

 easily take flight, the gannet is rarely seen. If surprised on the 

 grassy slopes of the island's top, where it sometimes alights for 

 nesting material, its habit is to make for the nearest cliff-edge with 

 ungainly hops or jumps and with the aid of its wings. 2 



Of the gannet's utterances, the most important is the loud " urrah ! " 

 figured by some writers as " grog" by another as " carra-crac " / It has 

 sounded to me on occasions like " urroo, or wrow, or oorah" differences 

 no doubt due to distance and position. Heard with the ear a few inches 

 from the bird's wide-open mouth, it resolves itself simply into a strident 

 " arrrr ! " This note is used to accompany the inrushing flight to the 

 ledges and the display, also to express anger. The almost indescrib- 

 able note used only on " letting off" from the ledges has already been 

 noted. The species is said to have an alarm-note, syllabled " bir /" 

 I have listened for it without success. When flying in the open, the 

 species seems to be quite silent. The note of the downy young, when 

 heard close to, sounded to me like a high-pitched " uk ! " It has been 

 compared to the yapping of a puppy. The changes in the note of the 

 species from birth to maturity have not yet been studied. 



On quitting the breeding station, the gannet colony disperses 

 over the seas, and may then be seen fishing off our coast either 

 singly, in twos and threes, or in flocks small and large. The species 

 is said by Naumann to roost floating on the sea, when away from the 

 breeding-ledges or suitable rocks, but he does not appear to write 

 this from personal observation. 4 



A few notes in conclusion on the habits of the immature birds. 

 Maturity is not reached till the third or fourth year, 5 but many imma- 



1 See Montagu's Dictionary of Birds; Proc. Zool. Soc., 1831, p. 90 (Sir R. Owen); and 

 Macgillivray's History of Birds; also Mr. J. H. Gurney's forthcoming book on the Gaunet. 

 1 J. M. Campbell, in litt. 

 3 Ibis, 1866 (R. O. Cunningham). 

 * Vogel Mitteleuropas, xi. 39-40. 

 6 See note 2, p. 366. Naumann says fifth year, op. cit., p. 37. 



