34:2 FISHING EXPLOITS OF THE OANNET. 



received any injury, and when released on the evening of 

 the same day, swam out to sea with great composure. A 

 fisherman at Islay told me that in some parts of Scotland a 

 singular method of catching these birds is adopted. A her- 

 ring is fastened to a board, and sunk a few feet deep in the 

 sea. The sharp eye of the gannet detects its prey, and the 

 bird, first raising itself to an elevation sufficient to carry it 

 down to the requisite depth, pounces on the fish, and in the 

 effort penetrates the board to which it is attached. Being 

 thus held fast by the beak, it is unable to extricate itself. 

 Frequently also gannets are caught in the herring-nets at 

 various depths below the surface. Diving after the fish, 

 they become entangled in the nets, and are thus captured 

 in a trap not intended for them. They perform good ser- 

 vice to fishermen by indicating at a great distance the exact 

 position of the shoals of fish." 



Some idea may be formed of the fishing exploits of the 

 gannet from what Buchanan states, that one hundred and 

 ^\Q millions of herrings are destroyed annually by these 

 birds at St. Kilda. They are summer visitants to the Eng- 

 lish coasts, and although from their power of flight they 

 seem to be widely scattered, yet their real stations or 

 breeding-places are few and local. The Bass Rock, St. 

 Kilda, and Ailsa Craig have long existed as Scotch locali- 

 ties; while Lundy Island on the coast of Devon, and the 

 Skelig Isles in Ireland, are less-known English and Irish 

 stations. 



It is on the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth, that they 

 assemble in countless multitudes, and present an extraor- 

 dinary sight to the beholder, nestling upon their eggs, greet- 

 ing their mates on their arrival from the sea, or quarrel- 

 ling if one happens to intrude a little to near another. 

 Troops of birds in adult, changing, and first yearns plum- 

 age, pass and repass, sailing in a smooth, noisless flight. 

 The great proportion build on the ledges of the precipi- 



