Gannet

a family of maritime birds. The gannet nests on inaccessible rocky islets, laying usually one egg. The common gannet, or solan goose, is about thirty-five inches long. It wanders as far south as Long Island. It nests on an island in the Bay of Fundy, on Bird Rocks in the center of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on Bonaventure Island. It is thus described by F. A. Lucas in the Report of the United States National Museum for 1891:

The birds are usually associated in small, straggling flocks; and with outstretched necks, and eyes ever on the lookout for fish, they fly at a height of from seventy-five to a hundred feet above the water, or occasionally somewhat more. The height at which the gannet flies above the water is proportioned to the depth at which the fish are swimming beneath, and Captain Collins tells me that, when fish are swimming near the surface, the gannet flies very low and darts obliquely instead of vertically upon his prey. Should any finny game be seen within range, down goes the gannet headlong, the nearly closed wings being used to guide the living arrow in its downward flight. Just above the surface the wings are firmly closed and a small splash of spray shows where the winged fisher cleaves the water to transfix his prey. Disappearing for a few seconds, the bird reappears, rests for a moment on the water, long enough to swallow his catch, and then rises in pursuit of other game.

The eggs of the gannet have been gathered persistently. They are shipped by the barrel. The estimated number of gannets on Bird Rocks has been reduced from 150,000 in 1860 to 6,000 in 1900. A southern gannet is the chief producer of commercial guano. A gannet may be taken by fastening a fish to a piece of board, weighted to float a few inches under water. The plunge of the bird drives its pointed bill through the board. The flesh of the gannet is rank. The feathers are valuable. See Booby; Cormorant; Pelican