4342 THE ZooLoGisT—FEBRvARY, 1875. 
Gray Phalarope in Nottinghamshire.—On the 27th of last October, when 
shooting the Rainworth Water, one of the party shot a nice specimen of the 
gray phalarope. “The bird rose out of the flags on the lake side, almost 
allowing one of the Clumbers to catch it; in fact, if the dog had not 
nearly run over it, it would not not have been seen, as five or six barrels 
shot off within ten yards had failed to make it rise. There were a good 
many feathers of the summer plumage left on it. This bird has only 
occurred on two or three occasions in Nottinghamshire—J. Whitaker. 
Guillemot bringing down its Young from the Cliff—Whilst on a visit 
to Flamborough, in August, I witnessed the interesting sight of an old 
guillemot carrying down its young one from the cliff; this it did almost 
perpendicularly and with very quick beatings of its wings. My attention 
was attracted to it by the squeaking, or rather whistling, of the young one, 
as if it were much afraid, and though I noticed the bird descending in a 
peculiar manner, and very differently from their usual mode of doing so, 
I could not clearly see the chick; but as soon as the old bird reached the 
water it dived, leaving the little one on the surface, and came up again a 
short distance off, calling its offspring to follow, which it did both by 
swimming and diving, and it was astonishing how active the little fellow 
was, diving several yards at a stretch. Now as the old bird and its burthen 
reached the water within twenty yards of the boat, I had a good opportunity 
of seeing what took place, though whether the young one was on the back 
of the parent or or in what other position I really cannot say. The young 
bird was, of course, in the down, quite small, and apparently not many days 
old. I noticed several similar ones floating dead on the water, which might 
have fallen off these high cliffs, but more probably the parent birds had 
been shot.—F’. Boyes ; Beverley. 
The Gannet (Sula Bassana).—These birds generally proceed from their 
rock, on feeding expeditions, in companies. ‘They invariably pursue their 
fishing operations up the wind, diving now and then, with apparently 
unerring certainty, as a scaly victim is descried. The bird’s favourite 
height when hawking is about fifteen or twenty yards—sometimes rather 
more—above the surface, and upon the occurrence of prey the bird becomes 
for an instant, as it were, transfixed in the air, and in another instant it 
makes the plunge. While in the act of descent the gannet’s wings are 
half distended until within three or four yards of the water, when they 
instantaneously collapse to admit of the bird entering cleanly. Notwith- 
standing the admirably wedged formation of this impetuous cleaver of the 
briny, the splash is greater than one would be at first prepared for; but the 
arresting powers of the bird must be very great from the fact of its almost 
never remaining submerged for longer than four seconds of time. Upon 
reappearing, cork-like, upon the surface, the gannet pauses for one or two 
seconds, and then, lazily flapping, it again ascends to continue its super- 
