Gannet

It is time for me to pay out on me.  But I am not inclined to.  It was my turn to pick a word at random from the dictionary. The word my finger fell on was “Solan.”  It is the northern Gannet.  As opposed to the Southern or Eastern or Western one.  I do not know if there are those out there, but I assume there is one of them (actually I have since found out there is the Cape Gannet of southern Africa and the Australasian Gannet of Australia and New Zealand).
A Gannet is a sea bird that dives into the water for its prey.  Apparently, it can do this from great heights and at speed because it has air sacs under the skin on its face and chest.  This cushions the impact.  Please do not try this at home.  The bathtub is too shallow and I am unaware of air sacs under our skin.
The northern Gannet is the largest sea bird in the north Atlantic.  Its wingspan can be up to 2 meters.  My wingspan is never that great even when I puff myself up to look more intimidating.
I do not think I have ever seen a Gannet except on tv.  Particularly not a northern one.  I have seen birds swoop down from a great height and catch fish.  These birds like Gannets have really good eyesight.
I do remember the Cormorant at QUT.  We had a nice pond we could sit near for morning tea.  People would populate it with fish.  It was very restful.  Until the Cormorant came along.  He would swim up and down underwater systematically eating every fish.  What did fascinate me about that pond is that it was only when it was emptied that a fence went around it.  To my mind, if ever it needed a fence, it was when it had water.
On tv I have seen Gannets join feeding frenzies.  The underwater photography is fascinating.  Seeing them pierce the water and swim about catching fish.  Apparently they can catch fish at greater depths then most birds because of their ability to go deeper.  I was never good at going deeper underwater.  Retrieving a coin at the deep end was enough for me.
They are pretty birds.  But not real smart apparently.  They are in the genus “Morus” from which we get the word foolish.  When breeding they show no fear and are consequently consumed.  It seems to be the old fight or flight thing.  They choose fight no matter what.  To me that is not so smart.  The only way I can live to fight another day is if I assess I cannot win this time and take flight (figuratively) or as the knights of nee in Monty Python suggest “run away, run away!”
The only reason “Solan Gannets” crossed my consciousness was because of the dictionary.  I guess that can happen.  There are a lot of words there.