324 



It is a powerful flier ; and it is very interesting to watch it while in pursuit of its finny prey : 

 poising its body for an instant in mid-air, it plunges headlong into the sea, with a velocity that 

 makes the spray rise several feet, entirely disappearing under the surface for some seconds, and 

 then springing upwards with the buoyancy of a cork ; after which it rests on the water for several 

 minutes, and then takes wing again, to renew the feat. In dull murky weather the snow-white 

 plumage of this bird, rendered more striking by the black extremities of the expanded wings, 

 makes it a very conspicuous object as it sails majestically overhead or scans the surface of the 

 rippling waves. 



On one occasion, when riding down the coast between Manawatu and Otaki, I came sud- 

 denly upon a Gannet asleep on the smooth sandy beach, and, dismounting from my horse, I 

 succeeded in taking it before it awoke. It was a beautiful specimen, in full feather, and appa- 

 rently quite healthy ; but it was probably worn out by fatigue and hunger, after a stormy day at 

 sea. The description at the head of this article was taken from this particular bird, which is now 

 in the Colonial Museum. 



Colonel Haultain informs me that on the occasion of a visit to White Island, in the Bay of 

 Plenty, on Christmas day, he found thousands of young Gannets there. They were clothed with 

 grey down, and were packed so closely together, that it was almost impossible to distinguish the 

 occupants of any single nest. The old birds manifested no fear at the presence of man, and, 

 where they were sitting on their eggs, required to be fairly pushed off before they would quit the 

 nest. It may be here mentioned that White Island is the top of a submerged volcanic cone, in 

 the centre of which there is a deep lake of hot water, like a vast caldron, constantly emitting 

 steam, with occasional outbursts of boiling water rising to the height of several hundred feet. 

 In the vicinity of this lake there are numerous round holes, in which boiling mud is kept in 

 violent agitation ; and the surface of the ground round these geysers is covered with great masses 

 of crystallized sulphur, deposited by the heated vapours. Altogether the island is a very remark- 

 able geological curiosity ; and, considering its normal heat and the sulphurous state of its atmo- 

 sphere, it seems a singular spot to be chosen as a nesting-ground. 



Off the Kawhia shore, on the opposite or west coast, there is a bare rock, known to sailors 

 as Gannet Island, where another extensive breeding-place exists. 



The eggs of the Gannet are very elliptical in form, measuring 3T inches in length by 1*8 in 

 breadth, the shell being of a greenish-white colour, covered over with a chalky substance, origi- 

 nally white, but yellowish-brown when soiled, and often much scratched by the action of the 

 bird's feet. 



