BIRDS OF NEW YORK 1 69 



Length 30 inches; extent 50; wing 14. 5-16. 5; tail 6.5-9.5; bill 3.25-4; 

 gape 5; tarsus 1.5-1.9; middle toe and claw 3.5. 



The Booby inhabits the tropical seas of America and sometimes strag- 

 gles northward to the coast of New York and New England. A specimen 

 in the collection of the Long Island Historical Society was taken on Moriches 

 bay, Long Island [see Butcher, Auk, 10:270]. Its occurrence in this State 

 was purely accidental. 



Sula bassana (Linnaeus) 

 Gannet 



Plate 9 



Peiecanus bassanus Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. 10. 1758. 1:133 

 Sula americana DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 295, fig. 269 

 Sula bassana A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 117 



hassa'na, of Bass rock, the famous nesting site of the species 



Description. White; primaries and their coverts blackish; head and 

 neck washed with light yellow; bill bluish gray; lores, gular sack and feet 

 blackish; iris yellowish white. Young: grayish brown, spotted with white; 

 belly mostly white; bill and feet dusky; iris green. 



Length 30-40.5 inches; extent 72 ; wing 17-21 ; tail 9-10; bill 4; gape 6; 

 tarsus 2 ; middle toe and claw 4. 



The Gannet occurs on our coast as a regular spring and fall migrant 

 March 20 to May 10, and October 5 to December 20; and a few are observed 

 in winter, "3 to 4 miles out over the cod grounds." On rare occasions 

 it wanders to the interior of the State. At Canton, N. Y., December 10, 

 1879, 3- specimen was captured on the Grasse river [see Lee, N. O. C. Bui. 

 5:190]; on Saratoga lake, November 11, 1880 [see (Rich) Merriam O. & O. 

 6:96]. 



The Gannet or Solan goose inhabits the North Atlantic, breeding on 

 rocky cliffs from Nova Scotia northward, especially Bird Rock in the Gulf 

 of St Lawrence, and Bass Rock, Firth of Forth. They feed on fish, which 

 they secure by diving from a considerable hight in the air and pursuing 

 under water. 



