Gannet

“ The gannet drops like the osprey into schools of herring, mackerel and pilchard. In their nests of grass and weeds, which are always made on the highest, steepest cliffs above the sea, one egg is laid a year, or a second, or even a third if the first is stolen. The eggs and young birds are eatable, unlike the eggs and flesh of the cormorant, which even the Greenlanders omit from their ménu.
As the launch rounds the lower end of the island, groups of gannets with ash-grey plumage are descried bathing at the water edge and strutting the beach promenade. ”

“ The gannet's long white wings stretched overhead, perhaps, or the dusky shag made a sudden shadow in mid-air, or we startled on some lonely ledge the great blue heron that flew off, trailing legs and wings, stork-like, against the clouds. Or, in the sunshine on the bare rocks, we cut from the broad, brown leaves of the slippery, varnished kelps, grotesque shapes of man and bird and beast, that withered in the wind and blew away ”

“ At sight of flying fish rising in flight, perhaps before albacore, or of a gannet or a booby that had been successful in fishing, he begins to drop, at first in circles; when still at a considerable height, he closes his wings, makes his body miraculously small, falls like a stone or a bullet, and comes up before the poor gannet, threatening, the robber that he is! The gannet instantly drops the fish, the frigate dives through the air, and, getting it before it has fallen far, rises to eat. ”

“ CHAPTER IX--I lose the Little Gannet Throughout the first part of the night we held on our course, the poop lights of the Gannet acting as a guide. Watches were set, five men in each, I taking my turn in the first watch. Towards morning the wind veered round and blew freshly from the west'ard, and when the sun rose, a watery orb, the wind increased into half a gale.
We saw the Gannet shorten sail, bowling along on the starboard tack under easy canvas to enable us to keep up with her. ”

“ There are few more noisy animated scenes in bird life than a Gannet colony, during the height of the breeding season. The stirring sight once witnessed can never be forgotten. The air, for many yards from the face of the cliffs and high above it, is filled with thousands of flying Gannets; every available spot, on the edges and face of the rock itself, is occupied by a Gannet, the standing birds vieing with each other in 184 uttering harsh cries, the flying birds silently drifting to and fro in a mazy bewildering throng. Many of the flying birds are carrying nest materials ”

“ Through all the turmoil consequent upon the motor's passing they sit, rows upon rows of them, rolled like demure snowballs on their high red ridges. The gannet is larger and whiter than the herring-gull. The body is three feet in length. ”

“ Whether seen at its nest, or when fishing at sea, the Gannet is a remarkably interesting bird. As may naturally be inferred, a bird so light and buoyant as the Gannet does not obtain its food by diving. It is incapable of submerging itself even for a little distance, except by gaining sufficient momentum from a plunge headlong from some distance in the air. Nevertheless, the Gannet feeds exclusively on fishes, which it catches almost like a Tern, by dropping from a great height and seizing or impaling them with its strong bill. ”

“ In the gannet there is only one foot one square inch of wing for every 2 lbs. 4 1/3 ounces of body. The gannet has, consequently, less than half of the wing area of the heron. The gannet’s wings are, however, long narrow wings (those of the heron are broad) , which extend transversely across the body; and these are found to be the most powerful—the wings of the albatross—which measure fourteen feet from tip to tip (and only one foot across) , elevating 18 lbs. ”

“ The Gannet is a voracious eater, and often so gorges itself with food as to be incapable of flight. The power of wing of this beautiful bird is wonderful in the extreme. I have seen the Gannet repeatedly keep the air for hours together, apparently without effort, wheeling in graceful curves, and ascending to vast heights, just as Vultures are wont to do. ”

“ After seeing the gannet every day for months one would be apt to think that this species is incapable of making a mistake and is beyond reach of accidents, but that cannot be supposed of any living creature, however perfect the correspondence may appear between it and the environment. At Sennen I heard of an extraordinary mishap which befell and caused the destruction of a large number of gannets. It was told to me by several of the fishermen who witnessed it at Sennen Cove, at the Land's End, and by a gentleman of the place, who is a keen ornithologist and was present at the time. ”

“ Gannet in Somersetshire.—I have lately discovered, in a friend's house, a fine adult specimen of a Gannet (Sula bassana) , concerning which the following particulars may prove of interest:—As long ago as 1890 a labourer found the bird asleep about a mile from this village, and, thinking it was a strayed Goose, attempted to pick it up. The bird resented being handled, and the man therefore killed it. ”

“ To my eye, the gannet wears as pure and as positive a white as one may find in nature, and, moreover, the black tips of his wings are a black past excelling. The bird is large—ornithologists grant him a length between thirty-three and forty inches—and he has a way of using his wings as if they were hinged fins. ”

“ We have already dwelt at some length upon the Gannet’s ways of life, and it will at once be seen from the above facts how admirably the bird is fitted not only for an aerial existence, but for withstanding the great pressure of the water during its repeated plunges into the sea from high altitudes. ”

“ A far more elegant and interesting bird, is the gannet or Solan goose—Sula bassana. On the wing, the gannet is the most striking-looking bird I have ever seen. They are three feet in length, and their wings stretch six feet. They are white, except the outer half of the wing, which is black, the bill, legs, and feet black, and head yellow. What crowds of them we saw, both in the air and on the water, off Cape Skagen, near the southwestern part of Iceland! ”

“ Gould says our Gannet out-boobies the Booby, for he landed on a flat rock and secured five specimens by hand before the rest shuffled over the edge of the cliff and took flight. The Australian bird can scarcely be distinguished from its British cousin. It is common in Australian seas, where it can be seen diving for fish or flying swiftly round looking for prey. There is a large Gannet rookery on Cat Island, east of Flinders Island, where probably 4000 pairs of these fine birds nest each year. This was visited by a party of ornithologists in the Manawatu in 1908. ”

“ To attain this object, the sea-hawk hovers above the gannet, (which is the bird most usually selected for attack,) and, darting rapidly down, strikes him on the back of the head, causing him to disgorge his prey, which is seized by the hawk with an inconceivable rapidity before it reaches the water, and afterwards soars aloft to look out for another object of attack. It is not an uncommon circumstance to observe a single gannet selected from a flock, and come out to be the subject of attack, as if he had been called by the hawk in preference to the others. ”

“ A good illustration of Audubon's habit of blending his own experiences with his biographies of birds is found in the introduction to his account of the Common Gannet:
On the morning of the 14th of June 1833, the white sails of the Ripley were spread before a propitious breeze, and onward she might be seen gaily wending her way towards the shores of Labrador. We had well explored the Magdalene Islands, and were anxious to visit the Great Gannet Rock, where, according to our pilot, the birds from which it derives its name bred. ”

“ The sharp eye of the Gannet detects the fish, and the bird, first raising itself to an elevation which experience or instinct has taught it to be sufficient to carry it down to the requisite depth, pounces on the fish, and in the effort penetrates the board to which the fish is attached. Being thus held fast by the beak, and unable to extricate itself, it is drowned. Gannets are frequently caught in the herring-nets, at various depths below the surface. Diving after the fish, they become entangled in the nets, and are thus captured in a trap not intended for them. ”

“ Like the Common Gannet, they may be secured by fastening a fish to a soft plank, and sinking it a few feet beneath the surface of the water, for if they perceive the bait, which they are likely to do if they pass over it, they plunge headlong upon it, and drive their bill into the wood. ”

“ Apparently as bulky as a goose, and with longer wings and tail, the gannet weighs considerably less. The plumage of the adult is white, tinged on the head and neck with buff, while the outer edge and principal quills of the wings are black, and some bare spaces round the eyes and on the throat reveal a dark blue skin. The first plumage of the young is of a deep brown above, but paler beneath, and each feather is tipped with a triangular white spot. ”

“ As a rule the Gannet does not approach the shore, except to breed, but follows the shoals of fish far out at sea. The circumstance mentioned by Browne is by no means singular, and several such instances of storm-driven Gannets being captured far inland are recorded. The "Scotch Goose, Anser scoticus," mentioned further on (p. 13 infra) , is also in all probability intended for the Gannet; it is the Anser Bassanus sive Scoticus of Jonston. ”

“ The gannet takes no more notice of the gull than of a bubble floating on the surface, and probably does not even know that the negligible bird regards his fishing operations with a good deal of interest and hungrily wishes he could have a share in the spoil. ”

“ One wonders how, when the gannet is flying high, on catching sight of a fish directly beneath him in the water, he is able instantly to check his course, get into position and fall just at the right spot. ”

“ Although the Gannet is a resident in British waters, it seldom comes near land except to breed. During the nesting season it is very gregarious, and some of its stations contain many thousands of pairs. Early in the spring Gannets begin to assemble at the breeding places, and towards the end of April nest building commences. The nests are made either on the ledges of the cliffs, amongst the broken rock fragments at the summit, or on the flat table-like tops of pinnacles and stacks. Where the birds are numerous and the accommodation limited, great numbers of nests are crowded together ”

“ Mr Frank Buckland has been experimenting upon the anatomical construction of the gannet, and says it possesses in its body the most perfect aeronautic machinery that can be conceived. There is a communication between the lungs, the feathers, and the hollow bones of the bird, by means of which it is able to inflate itself like a balloon. ”

“ A few of these party-coloured immature birds may be detected amongst the crowd of adults at the Bass; but, as a rule, these young ones do not congregate much at the breeding-places until ready to propagate their species. In many respects the Gannet is a very remarkable bird. The nostrils are closed, being practically obliterated, the tongue is small and aborted, whilst nearly the entire surface of the body is covered with a net-work of subcutaneous air-cells, communicating with the lungs, and thus emptied or inflated as the bird may desire. ”

“ The Shag is included in Professor Ansted's list, but curiously enough only marked as occurring in Guernsey. There are two adult specimens and one young bird and one young in down in the Museum.
162. GANNET. Sula bassana, Linnaeus. French, "Fou de bassan."—The Gannet, or Solan Goose, as it is sometimes called, is a regular autumn and winter visitant to all the Islands, but never so numerous, I think, as on the south coast of Devon; birds, however, in all states of plumage, young birds as well as adults, and in the various intermediate or spotted states of plumage, make their appearance. ”

“ The feathers of the lower parts of the Gannet differ from those of most other birds, in being extremely convex externally, which gives the bird the appearance of being covered beneath with light shell-work, exceedingly difficult to be represented in a drawing. ”

“ By the 20th of May the rock is covered with birds on their nests and eggs, and about a month afterwards the young are hatched. The earth is scratched by the birds for a few inches deep, and the edges surrounded by sea-weeds and other rubbish, to the height of eight or ten inches, tolerably well matted together. Each female Gannet lays a single egg, which is pure white, but not larger than a good-sized hen’s egg. When the young are hatched, they are bluish-black, and for a fortnight or more their skin is not unlike that of the common dog-fish. ”

“ Gannets are large stoutly built birds, having the four toes joined by a web; they have a small naked pouch beneath the bill; the bill is a little longer than the head, and the tail is quite short. The plumage of the adults is generally white, that of the young grayish. ”

“ Cunningham, whose learned treatise on this bird (Ibis, 1866, p. 1) nearly exhausts all that can be said of its history and habits. A few pages further on (p. 13) this writer remarks:—“The name gannet is intimately connected with our modern English gander, both words being modifications of the ancient British ‘gan’ or ‘gans,’ which is the same word as the modern German ‘Gans,’ which in its turn corresponds with the old High German ‘Kans,’ the Greek χήν, the Latin anser, and the Sanskrit ‘hansa,’ all of which possess the same signification, viz. a goose. ”