582 



A HISTORY OF 



fish by the tail; and consequently the fins 

 prevent its being easily swallowed in that 

 position. 



In this case, the bird is seen to toss 



its prey above its head, and very dexterously to 

 catch it, when descending, by the proper end, 

 and so swallow it with ease." 



CHAPTER CXXVII. 



OF THE GANNET, OR SOLAND GOOSE. 



THE Gannet is of the size of a tame goose, 

 but its wings much longer, being six feet over. 

 The bill is six inches long, straight almost to 

 the point, where it inclines down, and the 

 sides are irregularly jagged, that it may hold 

 its prey with greater security. It differs from 

 the cormorant in size, being larger ; and its 

 colour, which is chiefly white ; and by its 

 having no nostrils, but in their place a long 

 furrow that reaches almost to the end of the 

 bill. From the corner of the mouth is a nar- 

 row slip of black bare skin, that extends to the 

 hind part of the head ; beneath the skin is 

 another that, like the pouch of the pelican, is 

 dilatable, and of size sufficient to contain five 

 or six entire herrings, which in the breeding 

 season it carries at once to its mate or its 

 young. 



These birds, which subsist entirely upon 

 fish, chiefly resort to those uninhabited islands 

 where their food is found in plenty, and men 

 seldom come to disturb them. The islands to 

 the north of Scotland, the Skelig islands off 

 the coasts of Kerry in Ireland, and those that 

 lie in the north sea off Norway, abound with 

 them. But it is on the Bass island, in the 

 Frith of Edinburgh, where they are seen in 

 the greatest abundance. " There is a small 

 island," says the celebrated Harvey, " called 

 the Bass, not more than a mile in circum- 

 ference. The surface is almost wholly cover- 

 ed during the months of May and June with 

 their nests, their eggs, and young. It is scarce- 

 ly possible to walk without treading on them : 

 the flocks of birds upon the wing are so nu- 

 merous, as to darken the air like a cloud ; 

 and their noise is such, that one cannot with- 



These birds build their nests on the highest parts of 

 the chfls that hang over the sea: they lay three or more 

 l>ale green eggs, about the size of those of a goose. In 



out difficulty be heard by the person next to 

 him. When one looks down upon the sea 

 from the precipice, its whole surface seems 

 covered with infinite numbers of birds of dif- 

 ferent kinds, swimming and pursuing their 

 prey. If, in sailing round the island, one 

 surveys its hanging cliffs, in every crag, or 

 fissure of the broken rocks, may be seen innu- 

 merable birds, of various sorts and sizes, more 

 than the stars of heaven, when viewed in a 

 serene night. If they are viewed at a dis- 

 tance, either receding, or in their appproach 

 to the island, they seem like one vast swarm 

 of bees." 



They are not less frequent upon the rocks 

 of St. Kilda. Martin assures us, that the 

 inhabitants of that small island consume annu- 

 ally near twenty-three thousand young birds' 

 of this species, besides an amazing quantity of 

 their eggs. On these they principally subsist 

 throughout the year ; and from the number of 

 these visitants, make an estimate of their plenty 

 for the season. They preserve both the eggs 

 and fowls in small pyramidal stone buildings, 

 covering them with turf ashes, to prevent the 

 evaporation of their moisture. 



The gannet is a bird of passage. In winter 

 it seeks the more southern coasts of Cornwall, 

 hovering over the shoals of herrings and pil- 

 chards that then come down from the north- 

 ern seas ; its first appearance in the northern 

 islands is in the beginning of spring ; and it 

 continues to breed till the end of summer. 

 But, in general, its motions are determined by 

 the migrations of the immense shonls of her- 

 rings that come pouring down at that season 

 through the British Channel, an<I supply all 



winter they disperse themselves along the shores, visiting 

 the fresh-water ponds and lakes, where they commit great 

 depredations among the fish. 



