The Gannet.-] OF ORKNEY. 149 



the solan goose breeds is a rock called the Stack of Soliskerry, 

 where many hundreds breed every year, as the seals do on 

 the Skerry. Sometime ago a ship went from this place thi- 

 ther, and returned with a great quantity of young solans, the 

 feathers of which were good, as they were not near so oily as 

 those of the older sea-fowl ; the birds were eaten, but were 

 very wild and fishy tasted, with a strong smell. 



In the air, or at a distance, the solan goose has much the 

 appearance of very large gull, but may, to an attentive obser- 

 ver, be distinguished by the following tokens : The neck is 

 much longer ; the body more cylindrical ; the wings placed 

 farther back than in the gull-kind ; and the method of flying 

 is much more equal than in that genus ; which is all that needs 

 to be said of this bird, after the excellent description given 

 of it in the British Zoology. 



ADDENDA. 



The Coot. 



Wil. Orn. 319- RaiiSyn. 1 16. Fulica atra, Lin. Sys. 257. Brit. Zool.SQQ. 



Ore. Snyth. 



THE Coot is found here at all seasons, and in several places, 



