Among the Water-Fowl 



that they were the most quarrelsome of all the Cliff- 

 Dwellers, though for the most part they were 

 peaceable enough. At times I saw groups of them 

 huddled together in friendly fashion, some of them, 

 probably mates, caressing one another with their 



„ bills. Yet fre- 

 quently there 

 were manifesta- 

 tions of displea- 

 sure and hostil- 

 ity. One instance 

 was especially 

 curious. I saw 

 a Gannet plunge 

 into the water 

 from mid - air, 

 and come to the 

 surface with a 

 fish or eel. 

 Another at once 

 laid hold on the 

 prize, and there 

 followed a long 

 tug of war. I pur 

 posed seeing the 

 affair through, 

 but after ten minutes they seemed no nearer to a 

 finish than at first, and something else distracted my 

 attention. It is a splendid sight, of which I could 

 never tire, to watch the great fellows scale close by 

 the top of the clift, with extended wings that meas- 

 ure as far across as a man can stretch, and then 

 glide down and out over the ocean, at times to 



70 



AFTER THAT 1 AIMED AT A WHOLE CRAG ON 

 WHICH ALL THESE BIRDS GATHERED 

 IN A LARGER GROUP " 



