THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
shower of huge snowflakes melting into the waves ; it is marvellous how 
they avoid striking each other when descending in such numbers and with 
such velocity into a small patch of water, each apparently oblivious of 
everything except that one little object it has sighted beneath the surface. 
The dive into deep water is usually made from a height of 18 to 30 feet, and 
is a literal ‘ header,’ the bird usually entering the waves nearly vertically, 
and with a splash ; a perceptible interval elapses before it reappears some 
little distance away, giving its yellowish beak a swish backwards and forwards 
after swallowing its prey. It usually sits a few seconds upon the water before 
going aloft again, thus differing from the Tern, which takes to its wings the 
moment it reaches the surface. When diving in shallow water close to the 
rocks, the Gannet begins the descent from a height of 4 or 5 feet only, instead 
of 20 or 30 feet. The wings are not closed, as is usually supposed, at the 
beginning of the descent, but remain expanded until the bird is close to the 
surface, and apparently assist in guiding it to the exact spot which it desires 
to reach ; it then flaps them suddenly to the side of the body, and the 
admirable adaptability of its shape to its aquatic life may be well seen just 
as it enters the water, the long beak, head, neck, and body stretched out 
rigidly in one straight line, the legs and wings tucked closely in, everything 
arranged so as to offer as little resistance as possible to the water. Few 
prettier sights can be imagined than a company thus engaged in diving on 
a spring afternoon, with the sunshine above and the blue waves beneath : 
the plunge is made with such zeal (there are no half-measures about the 
bird’s dive).” 
McClymont, in the Emu, Vol. III., p. 56, 1903, noted : “ On the 17th of 
October, 1902, one Gannet was diving in the estuary of the Derwent. . . . 
The dive of the Gannet (as far as the eye can judge) is taken vertically, or 
very nearly so. As a rule the wings remain expanded until the bird reaches 
(or almost reaches) the water. But occasionally the wings are closed for an 
instant at some height above the water — ^perhaps in order to accelerate the 
speed by reducing the extent of surface to which the air offers resistance. 
The foregoing remarks apply to dives taken from a height of about 15 feet 
and over. When they are taken from a lower elevation the course is 
frequently an oblique one.” 
In Campbell’s Nests and Eggs there is another account by J. C. Gabriel 
of the Gannet rookery on Cat Island. It covers the same details as MeUor’s 
given above, but Gabriel writes : “ We found between 2,400 and 2,600 
birds (roughly estimated by measiming) seated in the locality on their nests.” 
If MeUor’s area of “ an acre ” is anywhere near correct, then Gabriel’s number 
is more likely to be accurate than Mellor’s guess. 
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