SULA BASSANA. 199 



The Shag is very common and resident about the Straits. They 

 nest at the island of Peregil, under Apes' Hill on the African 

 coast, and occasionally, as in 1883, at the back of the "Rock." 



Tail of twelve feathers. 



Adult. General colour shiny blackish green icithout any white. In early 

 spring a crest curled forwards on front of head. Length 27 inches. 

 Young. Brown above, whitish below. 



213. Sula bassana (Linnaeus) . The Gannet or Solan Goose. 



Spanish. Alcatraz ; but this name is often applied to any large 

 Gull. 



Favier merely remarks of this bird that it " arrives in October 

 and leaves during March, not being very numerous." There are 

 always, however, during the winter season, great numbers of 

 Gannets in the Straits, particularly close to Gibraltar, where, 

 according to the wind, they may be noticed fishing on the lee- 

 ward side of the Rock and watched darting down from a con- 

 siderable height on their prey, often disappearing quite under 

 the w T ater. On the wing, to an inexperienced observer, they 

 appear like a large Gull. The immature birds in their dull 

 spotted dress, perhaps through not attracting so much notice, 

 seem to be less in number than the more conspicuous white 

 adults with their black primaries. The earliest dates on which 

 this species was observed near Gibraltar were on the llth of 

 November, 1870, and the 12th of October, 1871, the latest 

 being on the 28th of March, 1870, and the 22nd of March, 1871, 

 and the 28th of March, 1872. Many on the 28th of March, 

 1876 (Verner), one near Valencia, 17th March, 1882, and several 

 seen near Cape St. Vincent on the 30th of April, 1877. 



Adult. Head and neck huffish white ; the rest white, except the black 

 primaries and primary-coverts ; tail long and wedge-shaped. 



Young. Head, neck, and upper plumage blackish brown, spotted with 

 white ; below white, very thickly covered with blackish-brown spots, but 

 vary much. Length 30 inches. 



