Northern Gannet

(Zoöl.) The common gannet.

Morus bassanus

TAXONOMY

Pelecanus Bassanus, Linnaeus, 1758, Bass Rock, Scotland. Monotypic.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: (North) Atlantic gannet; French: Fou de Bassan; German: Basstölpel; Spanish: Alcatraz Atlántico.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

34.3–39.4 in (87–100 cm); 5.1–7.9 lb (2.3–3.6 kg); wingspan 65–70.9 in (165–180 cm). Largest of sulids, a strong bird with mainly a strikingly white plumage. Compared with other gannets, bill is slightly stouter and head is paler cream. Juveniles mainly dark brown, gradually gaining white feathers of adult plumage.

DISTRIBUTION

Exclusively in the north Atlantic, where breeds on both sides 46–72° north. More widespread on eastern side, where in winter also enters the Mediterranean Sea and disperses south to subtropical waters. On western side, breeds on islands off Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Canada) and disperses south in winter to the Gulf of Mexico.

HABITAT

Strictly marine, mainly in waters over the continental shelf. Breeds on cliffs on offshore islands or, more rarely, on mainland.

BEHAVIOR

Breeds in dense colonies where aggressiveness and intense social behavior have given way to complex repertoire of stereo-typed displays. Breeding birds acquire a nest-site, which they then defend against intruders and maintain from year to year. Pair behavior is equally complex and linked to the nest-site. At sea, often occurs in groups particularly congregating around rich feeding sources but with little interaction.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds on shoaling pelagic fish like herring (Clupea), mackerel (Scomber) and sprat (Sprattus), also sandeels (Ammodytes). Makes spectacular plunge-dives from great heights. Also regularly attends trawlers.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Highly seasonal, starting March through April. Forms large colonies on cliffs or on flat ground, where builds large nest of seaweed, grass, etc. and a significant amount of excreta. Lays one egg only, incubated by both parents for 44 days. Chick fledges at 90 days; on its own, after it has been deserted by parents. Does not breed until four to five years old.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. Abundant and widespread throughout its range. Protection of breeding sites and cessation of former direct exploitation of chicks (for food) led to significant recovery over most of twentieth century. Overexploitation of fisheries remains an important threat; also suffers some degree of incidental mortality at sea.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Chicks used to be taken for food in some local communities, a practice that still continues in a few places (e.g., Sula Sgeir, off Scotland). Also present in literature and art. Nowadays colonies may constitute important sources of income locally, as tourist activities are developed around them.

Northern Gannet
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Family:	Sulidae
Genus:	Morus
Species:	M. bassanus
Binomial name
Morus bassanus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Northern Gannet range
Synonyms
Sula bassana

The Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus, formerly Sula bassana) is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.

Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution 3 Ecology 4 Photo gallery 5 References 6 External links

Description

Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.

Adults are 81-110 cm (32-43 in) long, weigh 2.2-3.6 kg (4.8-7.9 lbs) and have a 165-180 cm (65-71 in) wingspan. Before fledging, the immature birds (at about 10 weeks of age) can weigh more than 4 kg (8.8 lbs). Their plumage is white with black wing tips. The bill is light bluish. The eye is light blue, and it is surrounded by bare, black skin. During breeding, the head and neck are brushed in a delicate yellow.

Northern gannets circling above the Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth, Scotland

Distribution

Colony on "Bird Rock", Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland, Canada

Their breeding range is the North Atlantic. They normally nest in large colonies, on cliffs overlooking the ocean or on small rocky islands. The largest colony of this bird, with over 60,000 couples, is found on Bonaventure Island, Quebec, but 68% of the world population breeds around the coasts of Great Britain, with the largest colonies on the Bass Rock (whence the species' Latin name) and Boreray, St Kilda.

In the United Kingdom, gannets are a protected species. However, a legal exception is made for the inhabitants of the town of Ness (also known as Port Nis) of the Isle of Lewis who are allowed to kill up to 2000 gannets (locally known as guga) annually to serve as a traditional local delicacy -- the taste is described as fishy.^[1][2]

Many of these gannets are taken from Sula Sgeir which is itself named after them.

Breeding colonies of Northern Gannet in north Atlantic^[3].

Ecology

Gannet pairs may remain together over several seasons. They perform elaborate greeting rituals at the nest, stretching their bills and necks skywards and gently tapping bills together.

They are migratory and most winter at sea, heading further south in the Atlantic.

These birds are spectacular divers, plunging into the ocean at high speed. Although they are powerful and agile fliers, they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings. They mainly eat small fish (2.5-30.5 cm in length) which gather in groups near the surface. Virtually any small fish (roughly 80-90% of the diet) or other small pelagic species (largely squid) will be taken opportunistically. Various cod, smelt and herring species are most frequently taken.^[4]

Although Northern Gannet populations are now stable, their numbers were once greatly reduced due to loss of habitat, removal of eggs and killing of adults.

Predators of eggs and nestlings include great black-backed and herring gulls, common ravens, ermine and red fox. The only known natural predator of adults is the bald eagle, though large sharks and seals may rarely snatch a gannet out at sea.^[5]

Old names for the Northern Gannet include solan, solan goose and solant bird.

Photo gallery

Northern Gannets at Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec	Northern Gannets at Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec	Northern Gannet on Helgoland	Northern Gannet on Helgoland
Northern Gannet on Helgoland	Northern gannet in flight	Northern Gannet on Bonaventure Island, Quebec	Northern Gannet colony on Bonaventure Island
Northern Gannet at the Norwegian bird-island Runde	Sula Sgeir showing Northern Gannet colony and guano	Gannet colony on Stac Lee	Gannet on kelp close to Keflavik, Iceland

References

1. ^ Culture Hebrides - Island holidays in the Gaelic Heartland of Scotland
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Cramp, Stanley., K. E. L. Simmons (1977). Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa : the birds of the Western Palearctic. ISBN 0198573588. 
4. ^ http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/693/articles/foodhabits
5. ^ http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/693/articles/behavior

• BirdLife International (2004). Morus bassanus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 9 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Northern Gannet

• BTO BirdFacts - Northern Gannet
• Northern Gannet videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
• Northern Gannet Photographs South Dakota Birds and Birding
• Stamps
• Northern Gannet photo gallery VIREO
• Northern Gannets Pictures

v • d • e Gannets and boobies (family: Sulidae) Genus Species Sula Blue-footed Booby • Peruvian Booby • Masked Booby • Nazca Booby • Red-footed Booby • Brown Booby • Tasman Booby Papasula Abbott's Booby Morus Northern Gannet • Cape Gannet • Australasian Gannet

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