Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)

Other Scientific Names
Sula bassana [Cramp and Simmons (1977-1994)], Sula bassana [Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993)]

Other Names (World)
Northern Gannet, Atlantic Gannet, North Atlantic Gannet

Family
Sulidae (Gannets, Boobies)

Size
87 - 100 cm
Wingspan: 165 - 180 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Breeds on islands and inaccessible cliffs, in colonies, otherwise marine, pelagic. From sea-level - 200 m.

Range (Guide)

Algeria, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada (B) (P), Cape Verde, Denmark (NB) (P), Faroe Islands (B) (NB), France (B) (NB) (P), Gambia, Germany (B) (NB), Gibraltar (NB), Greece (NB), Greenland (NB), Guinea-bissau, Iceland (B) (NB), Ireland (B) (NB), Israel, Italy (NB), Lebanon (NB), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Malta (NB), Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles (NB), Norway (B), Portugal (NB), Russia (European) (B), Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain (NB), St Pierre and Miquelon (P), Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey (NB), Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom (B) (NB), USA (B), Western Sahara.

Vagrant to Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska), Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Russia (Central Asian), Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Syrian Arab Republic, Trinidad and Tobago.

Breeds both sides of Atlantic, 48° - 66° northern on eastern side, reaching 72° northern in Norway; more restricted on western side, 46° - 50° N. Winters southern down coasts, some reaching equator.

Population
Estimated population is 950,000 - 1,200,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Fish.

Voice
Dry, cackling calls while feeding. Growls at breeding gounds and when greeting birds at the nest. Othewise silent.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (87)...)

Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) [XC446206]
by Stanislas Wroza from Bempton, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom (call, flight call)

Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) [XC328163]
by Stanislas Wroza from Pinneberg (near Heligoland), Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (call)

Nest
A pile of vegetation, seaweed and flotsam, on the ground or a man-made construction.

Eggs (Guide)
1; white; ellipsoidal. Incubation: about 44 days; by both sexes.

Subspecies
Considered by some to form superspecies with Cape Gannet (Morus capensis) and Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator). Some authors consider Cape Gannet (Morus capensis) and Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator) to be subspecies of Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus).

No subspecies.

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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