6i8 G A N N E T. Class II. 



it? prey. Mr. Moyle firft detected this miftake*; 

 and the Rev. Do&or William Borlafe, by preferring 

 us with a fine fpecimen of this bird, confirms the 

 opinion of Mr. Moyle-, at the fame time he favored 

 us with fo accurate an account of fome part of the 

 natural hiftory of this bird, that we mall ufe the li- 

 berty he indulged us with 5 of adding it to this de- 

 fcription. 



" The Gannet comes on the coafls of Cornwal 

 " in the latter end of fummer, or beginning of au- 

 " tumn; hovering over the Ihoals of pilchards that 

 " come down to us through St. George's Channel 

 " from the northern feas. The Gannet feldom 

 <c comes near the land, but is conftant to its prey, 

 " a fure fign to the fi (her men that the pilchards are 

 " on the coafts - 9 and when the pilchards retire, ge- 

 " neraliy about the end of November, the Gannets 

 " are feen no more. The bird now fent was killed 

 " at Chandour, near Mountjbay, Sept. 30, 1762, af- 

 " ter a long ftruggle with a water fpaniel, afiifted 

 " by the boatmen ; for it was ftrong and pugna- 

 " cious. The perfon who took it obferved that it 

 " had a tranfparent membrane under the eye-lid, 

 * c with which it covered at pleafure the whole eye, 

 " without obfcuring the fight or (hutting the eye- 

 " lid \ a gracious provifion for the fecurity of the 

 ' c eyes of lb weighty a creature, whofe method of 

 ?* taking its prey is by darting headlong on it 



* Moyle* s Works, I. 424. 



" from 



