Northern Gannet Identification
Its scientific name is 'Morus bassanus', from the family Sulidae (order Suliformes)
What I look like
The Northern Gannet is about one meter in length with nearly a 2-meter wingspan.
Its plumage is white with black wingtips and a pale yellow head.
The yellow becomes paler during the non-breeding season.
Its beak is gray.
It is conical, long, strong, and pointed, without a hook.
It does not have a salt gland to expel excess salt, but salt is expelled through the beak.
Its legs are black and totipalmate (webbed with four toes).
Its wings are long and narrow.
Its tail is long and wedge-shaped.
Its fusiform body (long and slender) and the shape of its wings and tail allow it to travel long distances at high speeds.
Juveniles are brown speckled with white with a black beak.
They first lighten on the belly…
… then on the wings.
It takes 4 years for them to reach adult plumage. During the fourth year, some black remains on the tail and wing edges.
My songs, my calls
It is noisy in colonies.
It produces rolling grunts. These calls are hoarse and not very melodious.
How I behave
The Northern Gannet lives solitary or in groups during the winter.
It often dives from great heights to feed, keeping its wings back to minimize the impact. Its posture resembles a Concorde jet.
Air sacs in the head and chest allow it to cushion the impact and facilitate resurfacing.
It flies with broad, regular wingbeats and sometimes glides.
When the wind is strong, its flight is gliding like shearwaters.
How I reproduce
The Northern Gannet nests in large colonies on rocky coasts and islets.
Living in society, it uses courtship displays and territorial displays to protect the nest.
Mating is synchronized by courtship displays. The first pairs are imitated by others.
The nest is made of seaweed and various debris, in the crevices of rocks and cliffs.
The presence of a cliff is a decisive factor for forming a new colony, as it allows takeoff.
Pairs are monogamous for life.
The female lays one egg per year in April/May.
She incubates it with her large webbed feet.
The chick has white down.
What I eat
The Northern Gannet is piscivorous and consumes 400 to 700 grams of fish per day (mackerel, sprat, sardine).
The Northern Gannet catches its prey at sea by diving, alone or in groups after spotting a school of fish.
They can dive from 40 meters high and go deep underwater to about 15 meters.
It stays in the water for about 5 to 10 seconds and sometimes pursues its prey.
Where to find me
The Northern Gannet is a pelagic bird (It lives in the open sea).
It is found in the Atlantic, North Sea, the English Channel, and the Mediterranean.
Mainly visible in the open sea, it can be seen along coasts in summer.
Its breeding grounds are on the northern Atlantic coasts (Great Britain, Norway, Iceland, France).
In France, it nests on the Sept-Iles in Côtes d'Armor.
The Northern Gannet can live up to 21 years.