NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 63 



117. GANNETS AND NESTS. 



The White Gannet, or Solan Goose, is widely distributed throughout the North- 

 ern Atlantic Ocean, and is more or less a resident wherever found. Some of the 

 most noted breeding places of this bird are on the islands about the coasts of Scot- 

 land, nbtably the great Bass Rock at the mouth of the Firth of Forth. Here it 

 breeds in tens of thousands, with the Gulls, Cormorants and Puffins that inhabit the 

 rock. Another of its breeding stations is St. Kilda. The precipitous cliffs at this 

 place rise to the height of 1400 feet. Here the Gannet breeds in countless numbers. 

 This bird also nests on the Faroe Islands and upon islands on the coast of Iceland. 

 Small colonies are to be found breeding in Labrador. One of its well-known breed- 

 ing places on the coast of North America is "Bird Rocks," in the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence. The nests are built on the summits and ledges of the rocks. They are made 

 of sea-weed, mud and small stones, raised to about ten inches in height and eighteen 

 in diameter. In some cases the nest is made of straw and other available material. 

 A single egg is laid. It resembles very much the average Brown Pelican egg, 

 with, however, these differences: Its general shape is more elongated, and the cal- 

 careous deposit on it is thicker; the color is chalky-white; sizes range from 3.25 to 

 3.50 long by 1.65 to 2.05 broad. 



118. ANHINGA. Anhinga anliinga (Linn.) Geog. Dist. Tropical and sub- 

 tropical America, north to the Carolinas and Southern Illinois. 



Known as the Water Turkey, Darter and Snake Bird. It often swims with the 

 body submerged, its head and long neck in sight like some kind of water serpent 

 hence the latter name. This singular-looking bird is very common in summer in the 

 South Atlantic and Gulf States to North Carolina, frequenting the almost impene- 

 trable swamps. It is a constant resident of Florida. The bird dives with amazing 

 ease, and when alarmed will drop from its perch with scarcely a ripple on the sur- 

 face of the water, and will swim beneath the surface to a safe distance before reap- 



