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SULA BASSANA.
Gannet, or Solan Goose.
Pelecamu bassanus, Linn. Faun. Suec., p. 52.
— maculatus, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 579.
Sula bassana, Briss.; Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 563.
major, Brelnn, Vog. Deutschl., p. 812.
Moris bassanus, Vieill.
Dysporus bassanus, Illig, Prodr., p. 279.
It must be of interest to every lover of nature to observe the varied forms of birds, and to dwell upon their
especial adaptation to certain inodes o f life ; and among the different groups none are more worthy of such
notice than those included in the order Natatores. Although theGannets, Auks, and Gulls are seen together
inhabiting and breeding on the same rock, they are all structurally different, and are each admirably suited for
its own particular acts and economies. The Gannet differs much from all other birds, even from the species
constituting the other genera o f its own family (the Pelecanidte). Of the great family to which this bird belongs,
comprising the genera Phalacrocorax, Plotus, Pelecanus, Atagen, and Sula, there are above fifty species spread
over the rocky shore» o f the globe. Of these, about five are true Gannets, the one under consideration being
the largest of the genus and the most widely dispersed, on which head there could be no question if the Australian
species (which by some authors is regarded as distinct) were identical; certain it is, however, that our bird
is found all over the seas of Europe and North America, and is nowhere so common as in „Britain, where its distribution
is so general that to specify any particular locality in which it may be found is unnecessary. In winter
it may be seen fishing on every part o f our shores; as spring advances it resorts to particular rocks, such as
the Bass, Ailsa, and St. Kilda, where it lays its single egg and tends its solitary young one during the greater
part o f the summer. That so large a bird as the Gannet should lay only one egg would warrant the conclusion
that to feed a greater number o f young would tend to the undue destruction o f our edible fishes, and
the balance o f nature would thereby be greatly interfered with.
The sexes of the Gannet, when fully adult, are alike in colour, and similar to the front bird figured on the
accompanying P la te; but during the first autumn and a great part o f the second year they are dark brown,
speckled with white, in which state o f plumage they are mostly killed and eaten by the inhabitants
of St. Kilda and some o f our Scottish brethren on the east coast, their supplies being generally furnished by
the Bass rock, situated at the mouth o f the Firth of Forth.
The following details respecting the habits and economy of this bird will prove o f interest:—
Macgillivray states:— “ The Gannets arrive [at the Bass] about the middle o f February or the beginning
of March, and depart in October; some years a few individuals remain during the winter. The nests are
composed o f grass and sea-weeds, generally placed on the bare rock or earth, elevated in the form o f a truncated
cone, o f which the base is about twenty iuches in diameter, with a shallow terminal cavity. On the
summit of the island are numerous holes in the turf, formed by the Gannets in pulling away grass and turf for
their uests. They are placed in all parts o f the rocks where a convenient »pot occurs, but are much
more numerous towards the summit. Some o f them, on the face of the rock or in a shallow fissure and
having been occupied for years, are piled up to the height o f from three to five fee t; but in this case
they always lean against the rock. The egg, which is solitary and presents nothing remarkable in its
position, is o f an elongated oval form, white, dull, with a chalky surface, usually sullied or patched
with yellowish-brown dirt. It is objected to what might appear rough usage ; for the bird in alighting,
flying off, or when disturbed by the intrusion o f human visitors, tosses it about and often stands upon
¡IP All the movements o f the Gaeaet on land are very awkward: it hobbles,and waddles when it tries
to walk, stares at you with its goggle white eyes, opens its ugly black throat, and emits a torrent of
crackling sounds.” -
“ During the summer months,” says Mr. R. Gray, “ this well-known bird is an abundant species
over the whole coast-line of the west of Scotland. From Ailsa Craig vast numbers distribute themselves
in the day-time from the south o f Wigtownshire to the northern shores o f Argyle ; while from St. Kilda
even Wger flocks become dispersed throughout the Hebridean Sounds, extending even to the lochs
o f Sky«-, and the still more distant shores o f western Ross-shire. Again, the coasts of Lewis, the
North Mtm-h. and the shores o f Sutherland and Caithness are frequented by wandering Gannets from
Suleskeir, or N'orth Barra, as it is sometimes called, a small island lying about ten miles west of Rona, the