BIRDS—SULIDAE-SULA FIBER. 
871 
FamiJy SULIDAE. 
Ch —Bill rather long, straight, sides compressed, very strong, tapering to the point, which is a little decurved ; nostrils 
hardly observable ; wings very long ; tail long and cuneate ; toes long and all joined by full webs ; gular sac moderate. 
Prince Bonaparte lias placed our Booby G-annet in tlie genus Dysporus, Ill., but I have not 
considered there was sufficient generic distinction to separate it from S. bassana, and have, 
therefore, admitted hut one genus as existing in North America under this sub-family. 
SULA, Brisson. 
Sula, Briss. Ornith. 1760. Type Pelecanus bassanus. 
Ch. —Bill rather longer than the head, straight, stout at the base, with the sides compressed, grooved near the tip, which is a 
little curved, the cutting edges serrated irregu'arly ; nostrils basal and scarcely perceptible ; wings lengthened ; tail rather long 
and much graduated ; tarsi short and stout; toes long and joined together by full webs ; claws moderate, the middle one 
serrated ; gular sac rather moderate. 
These birds usually frequent almost inaccessible rocky islands, where they congregate in great 
numbers during the season of reproduction, at other times migrating along the coast. Their 
flight is rapid, powerful, and long continued. 
The two species of this genus which are found in North America may be thus distinguished : 
Bill bluish grey ; naked skin around the eye and on the throat blackish blue ; plumage 
white, with the primaries brownish black........... S. bassana. 
Bill bright yellow ; bare space around the eye and on the throat yellow ; head, neck, and 
upper plumage brown ; breast and abdomen white. F. fiber. 
SULA, Brisson. 
SULA BASSANA, (Linnaeus.) 
Common Gannet; Solan Goose. 
Pelecanus bassanus, Linn. Syst Nat. 1766, 217. 
Sula bassana, Briss. Orn. 1760. —Bon. Synop. 1828, No. 359. — Ib. Cons. Av. II, 1855,165. —Nutt. Man. II, 1834,495. — 
Aud. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 222.— Ib. Syn.. 1839, 311.— Ib. Bird’s Am. VII, 1844, 44 ; pi. ccccxxv. 
Dysporus bassanus, Ill. Prodr. 1811, 279. 
Sula americana, Bon. Comp. List, 1838, 60. 
Sp. Ch.—G eneral color of the plumage white ; bill bluish grey; bare space around the eye and on the throat blackish blue; 
primaries brownish black, first longest. 
Adult. The color of the plumage generally is white, the head and hind neck being of a fine buff yellow ; alula and primaries 
brownish black; shafts white for about two-thirds their length from the base, thence gradually becoming dark brown; bill pale 
bluish grey, greenish at the base, the lines on the upper mandible blackish blue ; bare space in the region of the eye, and down 
the centre of the throat, blackish blue ; iris white ; tarsi, toes and their webs, blackish brown ; the lines of scutellae on the tarsi 
and toes green ; claws bluish white. 
Length, 38 inches; wing, 19.50; bill, 4 ; tarsi, 2.25; tail, 10. 
The female resembles the male, but is rather smaller. 
The young have the head, neck, and upper plumage dark brown, each feather terminating with a triangular white spot; under 
plumage greyish white, the feathers broadly margined with greyish brown. 
Hab —Atlantic coast, from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico. 
The Gannet breeds in almost incredible numbers on some of the rocky islands near the coast 
of Labrador. When the breeding season is over, it wanders as far south as the Gulf of Mex¬ 
ico. Its mode of flight is powerful, and at times graceful. Its food consists of fish, principally 
herrings; these are obtained by plunging from on high, often remaining underwater fora 
minute or more at a time. 
