THE GANNET. ' 257 



singular that the adults and young birds of the year are not only 

 the most frequently met with around the coast of Ireland, but 

 that they alone have come under the notice of some ornithologists. 

 The intermediate states, and more especially the one preceding- 

 maturity, are rarely noticed. It has been remarked as strange 

 that the old birds should be so much more frequently seen than 

 the young ; but as only one young is produced, two of the former 

 may dui'ing summer and autumn be expected to be seen for one 

 of the latter. The young have a singular and handsome appear- 

 ance : the pure M'hite spots, disposed over the blackish-grey 

 plumage, appear just as if a snow-shower had fallen on the bird ; a 

 remark which equally applies to the speckled divers {Coli/mhi). 



A gannet, in the plumage of the second year, captured by a 

 fisherman near Carrickfergus, in the month of September 1831, 

 was brought alive to a bird-preserver in Belfast. This poor bird 

 had a most unfortunate malformation of bill for its mode of 

 fishing, the two mandibles crossing each other quite as much as 

 those of the common crossbill {Loxia cnrvirostm). I did not 

 see the bird alive, but the taxidermist informed me that the body 

 under the wings was so warm that his hands could hardly bear the 

 heat, and that the bird was continually endeavouring to free 

 itself from the host of parasitic insects with which it was infested. 

 Their extraordinary number no doubt arose from the inability of 

 the bird to free itself, even partially, from its tormentors with an 

 instrument so ill adapted to the purpose. 



An ornithological friend once remarked, much to his surprise, 

 the singular place selected by a young gannet in captivity for 

 stowing away the portions of its meal left after its appetite had 

 been satisfied. These, consisting of entrails, the bird tucked in 

 beneath and suspended over each wing, until hunger should again 

 be felt. 



FisJimg. — To witness the fishing of the gannet is not only a 

 beautiful, but a grand spectacle, more so to my mind than even 

 the swoop of the golden eagle or the peregrine falcon at its 

 " quarry," in which amazing power of flight and keenness of 

 vision are manifested. These chase their prey in their own 



VOL. III. s 



