p4 BOOBY GANNET.
no were within fifty yards of it, they had all betaken themselves to flight,
and were dispersing in various directions. We landed, however, distributed
ourselves in different parts, and sent the boat to some distance, the
pilot assuring us that the birds would return, And so it happened. As
they approached, we laid ourselves as flat as possible in the sand, and although
none of them alighted, we attained our object, for in a couple of
hours we procured thirty individuals of both sexes and of different ages,
finding, little difficulty in bringing them down as they flew over us at a
moderate height. The wounded birds that fell on the ground made immediately
for the water, moving with more ease than I had expected from
the accounts usually given of the awkward motions of these birds on the
land. Those which reached the water swam off with great buoyancy, and
with such rapidity, that it took much rowing to secure some of them,
while most of those that fell directly into the sea with only a wing
broken, escaped. The island was covered with their dung, the odour of
which extended to a considerable distance leeward. In the evening of the
same dav we landed on another island, named after the Noddy, and thickly
covered with hushes and low trees, to which thousands of that species
of Tern resort for the purpose of breeding. There also we found a great
number of Boobies. They were perched on the top-branches of the trees,
on which they had nests, and here again we obtained as many as we desired.
They flew close over our heads, eyeing us with dismay hut in silence
; indeed, not one of these birds ever emitted a cry, except at the moment
when they rose from their perches or from the sand. Their note is
harsh and guttural, somewhat like that of a strangled pig, and resembling
the syllables hork,-hork. | ^ jA ^
The nest of the Booby is placed on the top of a bush at a height of
from four to ten feet. It is laro-e and flat, formed of a few dry sticks,
covered and matted with sea-weeds in great quantity. I have no doubt
that they return to the same nest many years in succession, and repair it
as occasion requires. In all the nests which I examined, only one egg
was found, and as most of the birds were sitting, and some of the eggs
had the chick nearly ready for exclusion, it is probable that these birds
raise only a single young one, like the Common Gannet or Solan Goose.
The egg is of a dull white colour, without spots, and about the size of
that of a common hen, but more elongated, being 21 inches in length,
with a diameter of 15. In some nests they were covered with filth
from the parent bird, in the manner of the Florida Cormorant. The
BOOBY GANNET. 65
young, which had an uncouth appearance, were covered with down; the
bill and feet of a deep livid blue or indigo colour. On being touched,
they emitted no cry, but turned away their heads at every trial. A great
quantity of fish lay beneath the trees in a state of putrefaction, proving
how abundantly the young birds were supplied by their parents. Indeed,
while we were on Noddy Island, there was a constant succession of birds
coming in from the sea with food for their young, consisting chiefly of
flying-fish and small mullets, which they disgorged in a half macerated
state into the open throats of their offspring. Unfortunately the time
afforded me on that coast was not sufficient to enable me to trace the progress
of their growth. I observed, however, that none of the birds which
were still brown had nests, and that they roosted apart, particularly on
Booby Island, where also many barren ones usually resorted, to lie on the
sand and bask in the sun.
The flight of the Booby is graceful and extremely protracted. They
pass swiftly at a height of from twenty yards to a foot or two from the
surface, often following the troughs of the waves to a considerable distance,
their wings extended at right angles to the body; then, without any apparent
effort, raising themselves and allowing the rolling waters to break
beneath them, when they tack about, and sweep along in a contrary
direction in search of food, much in the manner of the true Petrels.
Now, if you follow an individual, you see that it suddenly stops short,
plunges headlong into the water, pierces with its powerful beak and secures
a fish, emerges again with inconceivable ease, after a short interval
rises on wing, performs a few wide circlings, and makes off toward some
shore. At this time its flight is different, being performed by flappings
for twenty or thirty paces, with alternate sailings of more than double
that space. When overloaded with food, they alight on the water, where,
if undisturbed, they appear to remain for hours at a time, probably until
digestion has afforded them relief.
The range to which this species confines itself along our coast, seldom
extends beyond Cape Hatteras to the eastward, but they become more and
more numerous the farther south we proceed. They breed abundantly
on all such islands or keys as are adapted for the purpose, on the southern
and western coasts of the Floridas and in the Gulf of Mexico, where I
was told they breed on the sand-bars. Their power of wing seems sufficient
to enable them to brave the tempest, while during a continuance of
VOL. III. E