THE CORMORANT. 223 



incautiously strayed into the place where they were 

 kept, when they immediately flew at him, and 

 attacked him in front and rear: his loud howlings 

 brought his master to his aid, hut too late; they 

 had got him down, and inflicted fatal wounds. 



The chief difference between Cormorants and the 

 Frigate-birds, so called from their keeping a sharp 

 look-out on other birds, and robbing them of their 

 fish, consists in the latter having forked tails like 

 our Swallows; their spread of wing is also propor- 

 tionably much larger, and they are altogether of a 

 lighter and more elegant appearance. We know 

 but little of them; indeed, our knowledge is limited 

 to one species only, the Tachypetes aquila, of 

 which we hare already spoken (see vol. i., p. 96), 

 when considering the buoyancy of birds and their 

 power of floating in the air. We shall, therefore, 

 proceed to the next genus, Gannets, or Boobies, as 

 some of them are called by sailors, owing to the 

 stupidity with which they suffer themselves to be 

 attacked and robbed by men and birds. 



The common Gannet (Solan Goose) is the species 

 to which we shall confine our remarks : well known 

 as it must be to those who have sailed on either side 

 of the Scottish coast, as well as several other shores 

 of our island, it will be more familiar to many 

 under the name of the Solan Goose. Like most of 

 the other birds of this tribe, it is profusely supplied 

 with air-cells; and we refer our readers to the 

 account already given (vol. i., p. 63), of these pecu- 

 liarities in its formation, merely adding, that from 

 the facility of procuring specimens, a close exami- 

 nation of this species is recommended to those 



