COMMON GANNET. 235 
down; at the age of about six weeks the feathers make their appear- 
ance among the down; when two months old the birds are pretty well 
fledged, and at the end of three months they are able to fly. The old 
bird at first feeds the young with a kind of fish-soup prepared in its 
gullet and stomach, and which it introduces drop by drop as it were 
into its throat. But when its nursling is pretty well grown, it places 
its bill within its mouth, and disgorges the fish either entire or in frag- 
ments. They never carry fish to the rock in their bills. ‘lhe smallest 
number of young killed in a year is a thousand, the greatest two thou- 
sand; but in general the number is fifteen or sixteen hundred. After 
being plucked, they are sold at from sixpence to a shilling each. The 
price of a young bird for stuffing is two shillings; of an old bird five, 
of an egg one. For the information contained in this paragraph I am 
indebted to the keeper. 
“ At the period of my second visit with Mr Aupvuzon (the 19th 
August 1835), the nests in most places had almost entirely disappeared, 
for it is only during incubation that the birds keep them in constant 
repair. The young were in various stages, a few quite small and 
covered all over with white down, the greater number partially fledged, 
with the down remaining on the head and neck, and some nearly ready 
to fly, and having merely a few tufts of down on the hind neck. The 
young lay flat, either on the remnants of their nest, or on the bare rock 
or ground. They are very patient and uncomplaining ; in fact, none 
uttered a single cry while we were inspecting them. I observed an 
old bird, with its own young beside it, squeeze the neck of another 
youngling with considerable force The poor bird bore the persecution 
with perfect resignation, and merely cowered under the bill of the ty- 
rant. The young of the latter also attacked its neighbour, but was 
instantly checked, on which it meekly desisted. One of the men in- 
formed me that last year there were fourteen nests, each with two eggs. 
In such cases, one of the young is said tobe much smaller than the 
other.” 
PELEcanus BassaNnus, Linn. Nat. vol. i. p. 217.—Lath. Ind. Ornith. vol. ii. p. 891. 
Sura Bassana, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 408. 
Gannet, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 495. 
Adult Male. Plate CCCXXVI. Fig. 1. 
