14 
Dr. R. 0. Cunningham on the Solan Goose. 
of the Solan Goose in the edition of his Itineraries published by 
the Ray Society and edited by Dr. Lankester, we are told, 
though no authority for the statement is given, that “ the Gannet, 
Sula alba, should be written Solent Goose, i.e., a channel goose 
The geographical distribution of the Solan Goose is extensive, 
although its breeding-places are far from numerous. On the 
coasts of Great Britain and Ireland it appears probable that it 
is a constant resident, though varying its stations at different 
times of the year. The localities in which it breeds are limited 
to Lundy Island, off the coast of Devon, in the British Channel; 
the Skelig Isles, on the coast of Kerry, in the west of Irelandf; 
St. Kilda J, the most distant of the Outer Hebrides ; the Stack 
of Suliskerry, not far from the Orkneys; Ailsa Craig, at the 
mouth of the Firth of Clyde; and, last, though not least, the 
Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. Among those parts of the 
kingdom where it is frequently met with, though it does not 
breed, are off the coast of Cornwall and in the English Channel 
generally, various portions of the coasts of Scotland, and the 
Orkney Isles, where, according to Low, it is very abundant, 
fishing in great numbers in the numerous bays with which they 
are indented. Beyond the British Isles the Solan Goose enjoys 
a wide range, being extensively spread over the northern regions 
of the Old and New Worlds. In the north of Europe its breed¬ 
ing-stations are Myggenes, the most westerly of the Faeroe 
Isles, and various small islands off the coast of Iceland, of which 
Grimsey, the Reykjanes Fuglasker, and some of the Vest- 
mannaeyjar are the principal. It is occasionally met with off 
the coast of Norway §. Southwards it appears on the shores of 
* [This appears to he a suggestion of.Yarrell’s, who contributed the 
ornithological remarks inserted by Dr. Lankester, and is repeated by that 
author (B. B. 3rd ed. iii. p. 493, note). It seems at least as probable that 
the “ Solent ” took its name from the bird.— Ed.] 
f [It has also been supposed that the Gannet breeds on the Stags of 
Broadhaven, off the west of Mayo (Thompson’s B. Irel. iii. p. 264, note). 
—Ed.] 
X [The most recent, as well as the most detailed account of this station 
(which, however, is actually on the islet of Borrera) is that given by Sir 
William Milner in the ‘ Zoologist ’ for 1848 (pp. 2054-2062 ).—Ed.] 
§ Cf. Ibis, 1865, p. 497, note. 
