480 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



saw multitudes of Gaunets, while numbers of these and of the 

 Alcidae swarmed around and above. On the whistle of the 

 steamer being sounded, the Gannets on the rock took flight, 

 launching themselves forth from their lofty breeding-shelves, 

 with outstretched necks and lengthy wings, in such numbers as 

 exceeded anything we had anticipated. This surprise was 

 heightened when, on rowing round the island, we found quite as 

 many, if not more, Gannets breeding on similar elevated ledges, 

 their nests being always placed high out of reach of the ocean 

 breakers, at the western end and above the north-west corner. The 

 lower rocks, especially some large detached ones near that 

 corner, were thickly covered with Gannets, probably the males 

 and more breeding birds. All these were in the white adult 

 plumage, but we saw during the day an occasional grey im- 

 mature Gannet on the wing, assuming the white on its head and 

 shoulders. After comparing our estimates and cutting them 

 down, we concluded that there were probably from a thousand to 

 two thousand of these birds breeding on the Bull Rock. About 

 twenty-five years ago, Mr. G. H. Kinahan, who was then at 

 Castletown, Berehaven, on the Geological Survey, was well 

 assured that no Gannets bred on this rock, for the clergyman 

 of Berehaven, having then visited it, asked him after the visit 

 why it was that Gannets bred on the Skelligs and not on the Bull 

 Eock? "Many hundreds," however, were found breeding there 

 in 1868, by Mr. S. N. Hutchins, as appears by a note from the 

 Eev. W. W. Flemyng (' Zoologist,' 1882, p. 110.) 



On ascending the rock we found we could get to some of the 

 Gannets' building-ledges, both at the east and west ends, and a 

 few of the birds remained on their nests till we approached within 

 a pace of them. The nests were invariably of seaweed, with 

 occasionally a little grass, not so well built as those of Cor- 

 morants. Each usually contained one egg or young bird, but in 

 two instances I saw nests containing two eggs each. On 

 emptying one of these pairs I found one egg fresh, the other 

 decidedly sat upon, so that they may have been laid by different 

 birds. Most of the eggs, from their soiled appearance, must 

 have been sat upon some time. The naked black young, newly- 

 hatched, contrasted quaintly with those which had assumed the 

 white downy covering which added greatly to their apparent 

 growth. One nest contained a half-digested fish about the size 



