li 
CANXET. 
the board on which the corn was spread, some round holes were cut, in which were inserted neat little paper 
cones filled halfway up with corn and smeared round the edges with bird-lime ; then returning the board to its 
usual place, I waited to see the result. The Gannets appeared thoroughly to understand the whole proceeding, 
and never interfered with the Sparrows till they got into difficulties ; but as one cunning old bird succeeded 
in swallowing three Sparrows that w'ere fluttering about, together with the paper cones, bird-lime, and corn, I 
thought such a mixture could scarcely be beneficial to their health, and accordingly gave up the experiment. 
The Guillemots kept in the same enclosure were also fond of a quiet joke in their own small w'ay. 
Whenever they could catch a Gannet asleep on the bank with its tail hanging over the pond, tliey would swim 
close up, and, seizing the feathers in their beak, give two or three good tugs, and then disappear below the 
surface before the astonished Gannet could make out from where the attack was made. They had, how'ever, to 
be careful that they were not caught, as wdiat was play to a Gannet was death to a Guillemot, and once or twice 
they paid for tlieir fun with their lives. On one occasion a poor bird was confused by two Gannets snapping 
at him at once ; and one seizing him by the head and the other by the feet, he was dead before an attendant, who 
had watched the affair, could get to the rescue. Although appearing almost impossible, it is doubtless a fact 
that one was entirely swallowed l)y a Gannet. For several hours a Guillemot was missing, and, owing to a strong 
breeze, it was conjectured the bird must have got on rving (they Avere neA'er pinioned) and flown away; the 
following morning, liOAvevcr, it Avas floating on the water in the pond in a condition that left no doubt as 
to its fate. The feathers and flesh had entirely disappeared from the head and neck, and the skull was 
bare ; the colour of the beak Avas also faded to a livid flesh-tint. It Avas then remembered that one of the 
Gannets had refused his dinner on the previous day ; and, considering the lunch he had made, this could 
hardly be wondered at. When it is considered that these birds can swalloAV at one time two or three of the 
largest mackerel, it is not so surprising that the feat AA^as accomplished, though I am unable to account for 
the inducement. 
I never remarked the Gannet in a Avild state make an attempt to dive for prey Avhile sAvimming. Those 
I kept in confinement, having been pinioned, were unable to rise on Aving ; they AA'ere, hoAvever, by no means 
incapacitated from reaching any fish that sunk to the bottom of their pond. The Avhole party might 
frequently be noticed busily engaged in diving ; their actions (Avhich certainly lacked the ease and silence Avith 
which Cormorants or Divers disappear beneath the Avaves) closely resembled the plunge that is made by 
the Coot. The wings Avere used beloAV the surface, after the manner of the Guillemot. 
When Gannets make the doAviiAvard plunge straight from the air (previous to Avhich they occasionally 
sail round and steady themselves for a moment), it is probable that they have detected the presence of fish 
and selected their victim beneath the surface of the Avater. Their sight is excessi\-ely keen ; and the accuracy 
with AA’hich the tame birds Avould catch fish Avhen flung to them from a distance of twenty or thirty yards was 
certainly surprising. If throAvn Avithin a yard or tAvo of Avhere the bird Avas either standing or sAvimming, 
not one fish in tAventy Avould be dropped. In case the prey happened to be seized in some manner that AV'as 
unsuitable, it was usually tossed up in the air to the height of perhaps a foot, then taken head downwards and 
immediately SAvalloAved. 
The specimens from Avhich the figures in the Plates are taken Avere all wdld birds, the ages of those 
exhibiting the plumage of one, two, three, and four years being judged by comparison Avith birds reared 
in confinement. The ages of the nestlings in the more advanced stages were also ascertained in the same 
manner, the dates on Avhich the younger birds hatched out on the Bass being observed and noted down. 
In Plate I. are figured an adult female and a nestling betAveen five and six Aveeks old. 
The principal figure in Plate II. is a nestling between eight and nine weeks old. The usual and 
demonstrativ^e greeting that takes place betvA'cen an adult male and female, on the return of one of the pair to 
their nest after a lengthened voyage in search of prey, is depicted in the background. 
