642 BRITISH BIRDS. 



Genus SULA. 



The Gannets were included by Linnaeus in the genus Pelecanus ; but in 

 1760 Brisson, in his ' Ornithologia ' (vi. p. 494), established the genus 

 Sula for their reception. The Booby Gannet, Sula leucogastra (being the 

 Sula sula of Brisson), is the type. 



The Gannets differ from the Cormorants in having the middle toe as 

 long or longer than the outer toe, and in having the bill very slightly 

 hooked. They agree with the Cormorants and differ from the Pelicans in 

 having only slight indications of a gular pouch. They have long pointed 

 wings and long wedge-shaped tails. The nostrils are obsolete. Their 

 prevailing colours are white and black. 



Seven species of Gannet are known, four of which inhabit the tropics ; 

 one breeds in South Africa, one in New Zealand, and one in the North 

 Atlantic. The latter species is the only one found in Europe. 



The Gannets are exclusively oceanic birds, feeding almost entirely on 

 fish. When in search of food, they do not dive like Guillemots, though if 

 wounded they can do so with ease. They plunge perpendicularly on their 

 prey, like a Tern. Their flight is rapid, but performed by slow deliberate 

 flaps of their long wings. They swim with the greatest ease, but on land 

 their motions are awkward. They breed on rocks, in colonies, making a 

 large nest, but laying only one egg, which is white without spots and with 

 a very rough surface. 



