338 



VERTEBRATA, 



THE SOLAND GOOSE. 



face of the sea, and plunging suddenly down upon any that come -within sight. They are constant 

 attendants upon the shoals of herrings and pilchards, and, by their movements, often give the fisher- 

 men notice of the approach of these fishes, and of the direction in which they are proceeding. 

 They form a nest with grass and sea-weeds upon the rocks, and lay a single egg. The young birds 

 are taken in considerable numbers in England and Scotland, and sold for food. The average num- 

 ber taken annually from the Bass Rock — at the mouth of the Frith of Forth, in the northeast of 

 Scotland — is from fifteen to sixteen hundred, and these are sold at from eighteen to forty cents 

 each. The general color is white; the young birds are covered with a beautiful white down, which 

 is said to be quite equal to swans' down for the manufacture of tippets, etc. The adult Gannets 

 attain a length of more than three feet, but they are not used for food, and their capture is under- 

 taken solely for the sake of the feathers. They are frequently caught by laying a herring upon a 

 board, and dragging this along behind a boat ; the Gannets, seeing the fish, plunge down upon 

 it, and either break their necks by the shock, or strike their bills fairly through the board. This 

 species is also found on the Atlantic coast of North America. It is sometimes called the Boohy, 

 from the ease with which it maj' be approached, and even captured, when sitting. The French 

 call it Fou and Boubie. Another species called the Booby Gannet, S. fiber, is found in the 

 South Atlantic and along the Gulf coast of the United States. 



Gemis TACIIYPETES : Tachi/jictes. — Among the most remarkable birds of this family is the 

 Frigate-Bird, Man-of- War-Bird, or Frigate-Pelican, T. aqitilus, noted for its extraordinary , 

 powers of flight. The tail is long and forked ; the feet small, the webs deeply notched ; the whole i 

 length three feet; the eggs one or two. The wings are narrow and of immense length, having 

 an expanse of from ten to twelve feet. These birds not only shoot through the air with great i 

 velocity, but fly to an immense distance from the land. They are very abundant on the coasts of 

 tropical America, where they may be seen sailing along at a considerable height above the surface 

 of the waves, and occasionally darting down with the rapidity of lightning upon any fish that 



