THE BRITISH PELICAN 75 



quently happens, he fishes close to the land, he may 

 be watched very comfortably by the hour from a seat 

 on some high foreland. A rock two or three hundred 

 feet above the sea is the very best position for the 

 spectator ; the birds float to and fro almost on a level 

 with his eyes, and their beautiful motions can be better 

 seen than from a boat or ship. 



Standing on the yellow sands in the little cove 

 behind St. Ives I watched the tide coming in one 

 rough cloudy evening, the sea as it advanced rising 

 into big glassy billows of a clear glaucous green 

 colour before bursting in foam and spray running far 

 and wide over the pale smooth sandy floor. Close 

 behind the advancing waves a number of birds were 

 flying to and fro, mostly herring gulls, but there were 

 also a good many gannets. These moved up and 

 down in a series of wide curves at a rate of speed 

 which never varied, with two or three or four beats 

 of the powerful, pointed, black-tipped white wings, 

 followed by a long interval of gliding ; the bird 

 always keeping at a height of about twenty-five feet 

 above the surface, and, without an instant's pause or 

 hesitation, dashing obliquely into the sea after its 

 prey. 



That is how they fish sometimes, flying low and 

 seeing the fishes a good distance ahead, and is but one 

 of several methods. When next I was watching them 

 their manner was very different. The air was calm 

 and clear and full of bright sunlight, and I watched 

 them from the stupendous mass of rock forming the 

 headland on which stands the famous Logan Rock. 



