THE BASS ROCK 227 



to rock, and others leave the ledges and dash in 

 straight lines to their distant feeding-grounds. The 

 shrill cry of the kittiwake reaches us from far down 

 the bird-covered sides, and the snowy-plumaged birds 

 can be distinguished among the larger gannets. 

 Guillemots also are here in plenty, and they are 



GANNETS: A TALKATIVE QUARTETTE 



seen sitting in rows on some of the rocky shelves ; 

 others are on the water resembling dark dots, and 

 when these dive for fish they disappear one after the 

 other, like bubbles extinguished by the sun's heat. 

 A gannet flies up with a fish, places it by the side of 

 his nest, goes away in search of more, and hundreds 

 of others are doing the same. The beauty of the 



