Everything You Want To Know About The Northern Gannet

About the northern gannet

The Northern Gannet (scientific name: Morus bassanus ) is considered a large seabird and a high-speed bird that can catch fish very quickly. It belongs to the gannet family (scientific name: Sulidae) and the pelican order (scientific name: Sulidae ). Scientific name: Pelecaniformes ), This bird can live up to 34 years in the wild, and its speed can reach 65 kilometers per hour while flying, Among the most important information that may interest you about this type of bird is the following:

Size and appearance of the northern gannet

The length of this type of bird ranges between 93-110 cm, its wingspan reaches 180-200 cm, and its mass ranges between 2.5-3.5 kilograms. Adult birds are white in color with black wingtips, and both males and females are identical in color. Plumage, but males are slightly larger than females. The northern gannet has a yellow crown, a pale blue bill, a black serrated lower jaw, and black-gray legs and feet with a bluish-green line in females and a greenish-yellow line extending down the legs in males.

The tail of these birds is long and slightly pointed, their beak is long, pointed, and straight, and they have bright blue eyes.

The habitat of the northern gannet and where it spreads

This bird spends most of its life at sea, and it has been found in the cold and temperate waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. It extends as far as the Arctic in the north, and up to the subtropical eastern and western coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in the south. It can be found in the Gulf of Mexico or in The Caribbean region sometimes, and within the regions of northwest Africa.

It generally lives in coastal and marine waters along the western and eastern coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is found in the ocean at all times of the year except during breeding times in the summer when it moves to land.

Diet of the northern gannet

The northern gannet feeds mainly on pelagic fish and shellfish, and the size of the prey it eats usually ranges between 2.5 – 30 cm. Among the fish it can eat are: cod, pilchard, salmon, mackerel, capelin, menhaden, and others.

Breeding of the northern gannet

These birds breed in colonies in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and North America. These colonies are large and crowded, and are found on rocky cliffs and islands. Every year the same nest is occupied by each pair, and nesting materials are added to it.

Females usually lay one egg during the period from the end of April to mid-June. The egg weighs about 105 grams and is pale greenish-blue in color. It hatches during the period from early June to early July. The young are incubated for 13 weeks until they hatch, and the young reach adult mass after approximately ten weeks.