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Bird - Lore 



by on broad and powerful wings, riding on the gale without an effort, one'of 

 Nature's triumphs in the balancing of forces. I surprised one old fellow fast 

 asleep on the ledge, with his head tucked under his wing; and carried him to 

 the top of the cliff where we could study him more closely. Nearly all the broader 

 ledges were white with nesting Gannets, sitting as close as they could sit on their 

 crude nests of kelp and rockweed, each bird covering one, large, dirty egg, origi- 



GANNETS ON THEIR NESTS 



naily white but now stained with the red mud from the sandstone rock. They 

 live peaceably enough among themselves, but their awkward movements result 

 in many broken eggs, and they are far from neat in their habits. Carelessness 

 and lack of neatness are characteristic of all the Pelican family, to which the 

 Gannet belongs, and must indicate a low order of intelligence, for birds as a rule 

 are very neat and keep their nests scrupulously clean. 



The Gannets show their lack of intelligence in other ways; their brains are 

 very small in proportion to their size, and they are very stupid birds, gawking 

 at the intruder with a most helpless and idiotic expression, or stumbling over 

 each other in their efforts to escape, often rolling the eggs out of the nests in 

 their attempt. How different they are in this respect from the keen-witted Ruffed 

 Grouse, who springs suddenly into the air, covering her eggs as she leaves, and 

 dodging out of sight in an instant. No wonder the Gannets have been clubbed 

 to death on their nests by the fishermen in search of bait, until they are well 

 nigh exterminated from all but the most inaccessible cliffs! 



The beautiful little Kittiwake Gulls are birds of another feather, and form 

 one of the most attractive features of Bird Rock. They are cliff-dwellers indeed, 



