AMONG THE WATER-FOWL 



that they were the most quarrelsome of all the Cliflf- 

 Dwellers, though for the most part they were 

 peaceable enough. At times I saw groups of them 

 huddled together in friendly fashion, some of them, 

 probably mates, caressing one another with their 



bills. Yet fre- 

 quently there 

 were manifesta- 

 tions of displea- 

 sure and hostil- 

 ity. One instance 

 was especially 

 curious. I saw 

 a Gannet plunge 

 into the water 

 from mid - air, 

 and come to the 

 surface with a 

 fish or eel . 

 Another at once 

 laid hold on the 

 prize, and there 

 followed a long 



" AFTER THAT I AIMED AT A WHOLE CRAG ON tUg of War. I pUr 



WHICH ALL THESE BIRDS GATHERED DOSed Seeing the 



IN A LARGER GROUP " rr 1 1 



affair through, 



but after ten minutes they seemed no nearer to a 

 finish than at first, and something else distracted my 

 attention. It is a splendid sight, of which I could 

 never tire, to watch the great fellows scale close by 

 the top of the cliff, with extended wings that meas- 

 ure as far across as a man can stretch, and then 

 glide down and out over the ocean, at times to 



70 



