every side the Gannets are eyeing you suspiciously, some disgorging fish previous to taking wing, others barking defiance as you approach them, and stubbornly remaining upon their egg until absolutely pushed from it. Rock, sea, and air teem with birds. It will, however, be remarked that none of the birds fly over the land; all keep to the face of the cliffs. At the Bass Rock, numbers of young Gannets used to be taken for food, the proprietor baking quantities, and selling them to the country people round about. The taste for baked Solan Geese, however, is not so prevalent as formerly, and the custom seems likely to die out. At St. Kilda, however, the Gannet harvest still continues to be gathered, and the young birds form a welcome article of food. _Ducks, Geese, and Swans_ [Illustration: TUFTED DUCK. Chapter v.] CHAPTER V. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. _Ducks—Characteristics—Non-diving Ducks—Characteristics of—Changes of Plumage—Sheldrake—Wigeon—Pintail Duck—Various other species—Diving Ducks: Characteristics—Changes of Plumage—Eider Duck—King Eider—Common Scoter—Velvet Scoter—Scaup Duck—Tufted Duck—Pochard—Golden-Eye—Long-tailed Duck—Mergansers—Characteristics and Changes of Plumage—Red-breasted Merganser—Goosander—Smew—Geese—Characteristics—Gray Lag Goose—White-fronted Goose—Bean Goose—Brent Goose—Bernacle Goose—Swans—Characteristics—Changes of Plumage—Hooper Swan—Bewick’s Swan._ Most of the species contained in the present chapter can only be described as Sea-birds during winter. In summer they are chiefly inland species, and resort to fresh waters. Again, the majority of these birds do not breed within the limits of the British Islands; they are winter visitors from more northern lands, and return to those lands in spring. Still there are a few species resident in our area eminently marine in their habits, and forming constant and pleasing features in the bird-life of the coast. United, the Ducks, Geese, and Swans form the well-defined family Anatidæ, which may be readily divided into half-a-dozen sub-families, all but one of which are represented at some time of the year on our seaboard. The most important external characteristics of the birds in this family are the peculiar laminated bill, the short legs, the webbed feet, and the dense compact plumage. The family is almost cosmopolitan in its distribution. NON-DIVING DUCKS.