British Birds in Their Haunts

by C. A. Johns

[29] A pair hatched two young in the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park in 1882.

THE SHAG
PHALACRÓCORAX GRÁCULUS

Tail graduated, of twelve feathers. In winter, general plumage deep greenish black; feathers of the back glossy with black borders; orbits and pouch greenish yellow; bill dusky; irides green; feet black. In summer, head crested. Young birds greenish brown above; light grey below. Length twenty-eight inches. Eggs greenish blue, chalky.

Except in the smaller size and differences of plumage mentioned above, there is little to distinguish the Shag from the Cormorant. Both, too, are of common occurrence, and frequent the same localities; except that the Shag is more disposed to be gregarious: it does not, however, commonly resort to tidal rivers, and is still more rarely found on inland lakes; its food and method of obtaining it are precisely similar, so that a description of one bird will suit the other almost equally well. The Shag is called sometimes the Green Cormorant, from the tint of its plumage; but this name is not in common use. Another of its names is the Crested Cormorant; but this is vague, inasmuch as both species are crested in spring. In Scotland a common name for it is Scart, applied also to the Great Cormorant.

THE GANNET
SULA BASSANA

Crown buff-yellow; general plumage milk-white; quills black; bill bluish grey at the base, white at the tip; orbits pale blue; membrane prolonged from the gape and that under the throat dusky blue; irides yellow; feet striped with green, the membranes dusky; claws white. Birds of the first year, general plumage dusky brown, beneath greyish. In the second year, greyish black above, marked with numerous triangular white spots, whitish below. Length three feet. Eggs dull greenish white.

It would not be difficult to compile, from various sources, a description of the Gannet and its habits which would fill more pages than my readers, perhaps, would care to peruse. To avoid this contingency, I will limit myself to a statement of my own personal acquaintance with the bird and its ways, and a transcript of notes kindly furnished me by a friend who visited the Bass Rock, one of its favourite haunts in the breeding season.

Extract from my own Journal.—'August 27th. I lay for a long time to-day on the thick herbage which crowns the splendid cliffs, "the Gobbins", near the entrance of Belfast Lough, watching through a telescope the proceedings of some Gannets, or Solan Geese. This bird, which is allied to the Pelicans rather than the Geese, is of a large size, much bigger than a Gull, from which, also, it may be distinguished at a distance by its greater length of neck, the intense whiteness of its plumage, and the black tip of its wide-spreading wings. But apart from all these distinguishing characters, its mode of fishing is, by itself, sufficient to mark it. In flight it is eminently wandering; it circles round and round, or describes a figure of eight, at a varying elevation above the water, in quest of herrings, pilchards, or other fish whose habit is to swim near the surface. When it has discovered a prey, it suddenly arrests its flight, partially closes its wings, and descends head foremost with a force sufficient to make a jet d'eau visible two or three miles off, and to carry itself many feet downwards. When successful, it brings its prize to the surface, and devours it without troubling itself about mastication. If unsuccessful, it rises immediately, and resumes its hunting. It is sometimes seen swimming, perhaps to rest itself, for I did not observe that it ever dived on these occasions. My companion told me that the fishermen on the coast of Ireland say that, if chased by a boat when seen swimming, it becomes so terrified as to be unable to rise. The real reason may be that it is gorged with food. He was once in a boat on the Lough, when, a Gannet being seen a long way ahead, it was determined to give chase, and ascertain whether the statement was correct. As the boat drew near, the Gannet endeavoured to escape by swimming; but made no attempt either to dive or to use its wings. After a pretty long chase, the bowman secured it in spite of a very severe bite which it inflicted on his hand, and carried it home in triumph. It did not appear to have received any injury, and when released, in the evening of the same day, swam out to sea with great composure. A fisherman in Islay told me that in some parts of Scotland a singular method of catching Gannets is adopted. A herring is fastened to a board and sunk a few feet deep in the sea. 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. They perform good service to fishermen, by indicating at a great distance the exact position of the shoals of fish.'

Gannets breed in great numbers on several parts of our rocky coast; from the extreme north to Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel. The two most important stations are St. Kilda and the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. On this rock stand the ruins of the once formidable stronghold of the Douglas family, the Castle of Tantallan. In circumference the island is about a mile; on the northern side it rises to an elevation of eight hundred feet, whilst towards the south it shelves almost down to the sea. The isolated position of this rock, and the difficulty of landing on it, have rendered it a fit retreat for sea-fowl of various kinds; and as the proprietor 'preserves' them, they flourish without sensible diminution. The discharge of a gun causes the whole of the colony to take wing; and as they rise into the air, the eye of the spectator is dazzled by the mazy intercrossings of white wings, the ear bewildered by the discord of confused screamings. A visit paid at sunrise, when flocks of various kinds are wheeling about in all directions, will more than reward the early riser for his activity, for Scotland scarcely offers a more interesting sight. Of all the numerous birds which frequent the rock, the Solan Goose is the most abundant and most profitable, as almost the only revenue of the island accrues from the sale of these birds to the country people of the mainland, and at the Edinburgh market, where they have fetched, for the last century and a half, the unvarying price of two shillings and fourpence a head. The size of the Gannet is somewhat larger than that of the domestic Goose.

'The only parts of the island where they can be approached are on the south and west sides. They sit lazily and stupidly on and about their nests, which are composed of a mass of weeds and grass, and will suffer themselves to be stroked, patted, or knocked on the head, as the case may be, with a most philosophical gravity. They are frequently shot; but as they then generally fall into the sea, a boat has to be on the alert, or they are soon washed away. The plan of lowering a man by means of a rope held by the others, is also adopted; but this is most dangerous. The Frigate Pelican [The Skua?] often chases a successful Gannet till the terrified bird disgorges its prey, which the pursuer seizes before it reaches the water.'