290 



OEDERS OF BIRDS— FULLY-AVEBBED SWIMMERS 



spots they can find, there is no l>ii'd which man 

 cannot reacli witli a Run, no nest to wliicli he 

 cannot chmb, or be lowered at tlie end of a 

 rope. 



Sea-l)irds everywhere are persecuted by man, 

 either for their ejifi's or for themselves. In 

 their iH-eeding-season the (iamiets are con- 

 tinually visited by Indians and whites, who 

 take their eggs. "Scarce a day passes," says 

 Mr. Lucas, "without a visit from fishermen in 

 search of eggs, or murres. i\Iany barrels of 

 eggs are gathered during the season, and alto- 

 gether the birds lead a rather precarious ex- 

 istence. There is a law regulating the taking 

 of eggs, and if this were observed, or could be 

 strictly enforced, a large number of eggs could 

 be gathered annually, while at the same time 

 the number of birds would steadily increase." 



As will be inferred, the Gannet lives wholly 

 Upon fish, and is an expert deep-water di\'er. 

 In his re]:>ort on his " Explorations in Newfound- 

 land and Labrador," Mr. Lucas gives the fol- 

 lowing interesting account : 



" While lying at ( Irindstone Island we first 

 tnade the acquaintance of the Gannets, whose 

 head-quarters are at Bird Rocks, and had a good 

 opportunity to watch them fishing. The birds 

 are usually associated in small, straggling 

 flocks, and with outstretched necks, and eyes 

 ever on the lookout for fish, they fly at a height 

 of from T.") to 100 feet above the water, or occa- 

 sionally somewhat more. The height at which 

 the Gannet flies above the water is proportioned 

 to the depth at which the fish ai-e swimming 

 beneath, and Captain Collins tells me that when 

 fish are swimming near the surface, the Gannet 

 flies very low, and darts obliquely instead of 

 vertically upon its prey. 



"Should any finny game be seen within range, 

 down goes the Gannet headlong, the nearly 

 closed wings being used to guide the living arrow 

 in its downward flight. .lust above the sur- 

 face, the wings a'-e firmly closeil, and a small 

 splasli of spray sliows wliere tlie winged fisher 

 cleaves the water to transfix his prey. Disap- 

 pearing for a. few seconds, the bird rea])pears, 

 rests for a. moment on the water, long enouaii 

 to swallow his catch, then I'iscs in pursuit of 

 other game. The appetite of the Gannet is 

 limited only by t]i(> capacily ol' ils stomach, 

 and a successful fisher may fre(iuently be seen 



resting on the water, too heavily laden to rise 

 without disgorging a part of its cargo, which it 

 sometimes must do to escape from the pathway 

 of an approaching vessel." 



Any person who is accustomed to diving, 

 e^-en from a -^-ery moderate height, knows well 

 the serious disturbance to vision caused bj' the 

 shock of impact with the water. That a Gan- 

 net — or any other bird — can fall from e\'en a 

 height of twentjf-five feet, saying nothing of a 

 hundred, take the water plunge, and retain its 

 gaze upon its prey sufficiently to follow and 

 capture it, surelj' betokens a sijecial optical 

 provision which as yet we know nothing about, 



Piio^j. ii>- 11. J, Beck. Galapagos Islands. 



]\IAN-0'-W.\R BIRDS. 



and which remains to be discovered and de- 

 scribed. 



Besides the species descriljed above, there 

 are five other species of gannets, called Boobys, 

 with various prefixes, which to\ich the coasts 

 of the continent of North America. 



THE MAN-O'-WAR BIRD FAMILY. 



Frejinlidae. 



Whenever at sea in the tropics your attention 

 is arrested by the flight far aloft of a big, dark- 

 colored bird with long, sharp-pointed wings, 

 and a Im/;/ Inil that is (kephi jarl^rd, know that 

 it is .'I Frisatc-Bird,' or, as the sailors call it, 



^ Fri-yu'lu a'quil-a. Length, about 40 inches. 



