THE COMMON GANNET. 533 



Length, thirty-eight inches; wing, nineteen and fifty one-hundredths ; tarsi, two, 

 and twenty-five one-hundredths ; tail, ten inches. 



Hab. Atlantic coast, from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico. 



The Gannet breeds in almost incredible numbers on some of the rocky islands 

 near the coast of Labrador. When the breeding season is over, it wanders as far 

 south as the Gulf of Mexico. Its mode of flight is powerful, and at times graceful. 

 Its food consists of fish, principally herrings ; these are obtained by plunging from 

 on high, often remaining under water for a minute or more at a time. 



THIS species is quite common on our coast in the autumn 

 and spring, and through the greater part of the winter. 

 Audubon, in describing its breeding habits, says : 



" The newly finished nest of this bird is fully two feet high, and 

 quite as broad externally. It is composed of seaweeds and mari- 

 time grasses, the former being at times brought from considerable 

 distances. Thus, the Gannets breeding on the rocks in the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence carry weeds from the Magdalene Islands, which are 

 about thirty miles distant. The grasses are pulled or dug up from 

 the surface of the breeding-place itself, often in great clods, con- 

 sisting of roots and earth, and leaving holes not unlike the 

 entrances to the burrows of the Puffin. The nests, like those of 

 Cormorants, are enlarged or repaired annually. The single egg, 

 of a rather elongated oval form, averages 3^ inches in length, 

 by 2 inches in its greatest breadth ; and is covered with an 

 irregular roughish coating of white calcareous matter, which, on 

 being scraped off, leaves exposed the pale greenish- blue tint of the 

 under surface." 



