Common Nightingale vs Northern Gannet
Luscinia megarhynchos compared with Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Common Nightingale | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Luscinia megarhynchos | Morus bassanus |
| Order | Passeriformes | Suliformes |
| Family | Muscicapidae | Sulidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 16.5 cm (6.5 in) | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Wingspan | 25.0 cm (9.8 in) | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Weight | 21.0 g (0.74 oz) | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Diet | Insects and larvae, supplemented with berries in autumn. Forages on or near the ground in … | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … |
| Clutch Size | 4-5 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Common Nightingale
Dense thickets, scrub, and undergrowth in deciduous woodland. Prefers areas with thick ground cover near water.
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Song & Call Comparison
Common Nightingale
Considered Europe's finest songster: an extraordinarily rich, loud, flute-like melody of bubbling trills, slow whistles, and a distinctive crescendo 'lu-lu-lu'. Sings day and night.
Northern Gannet
Loud, harsh 'urrah-urrah' grunting and croaking at breeding colonies on sea stacks. Also gives a softer 'karrr' in flight. Large colonies are extremely noisy during the breeding season.
Geographic Range & Migration
Common Nightingale
Breeds in Europe and western Asia. Winters in sub-Saharan Africa. A long-distance migrant crossing the Sahara.
Northern Gannet
North Atlantic, breeding from Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence to Norway, Iceland, and Britain. Winters at sea south to the tropics.
Conservation Status
Common Nightingale
Northern Gannet
How to Tell Them Apart
Common Nightingale
Plain warm brown upperparts with a rufous-chestnut tail. Pale greyish-white underparts. Unremarkable appearance belies its remarkable voice.
Thin, pointed, dark brown bill
Northern Gannet
Brilliant white body with black wingtips and a golden-yellow wash on the head and nape. Blue-grey bill with dark lines and pale blue eye-ring.
Long, straight, pointed, pale blue-grey bill with serrated edges
About These Birds
Common Nightingale
The common nightingale is celebrated as one of the finest songsters in the bird world, inspiring poets from Homer to Keats. Males sing complex phrases of over 250 different types, often at night during breeding season. Despite its famous song, the nightingale is a plain-looking bird that skulks in dense vegetation.
Northern Gannet
The northern gannet is a spectacular plunge-diver, folding its two-meter wingspan into an arrow shape to hit the water at up to 100 km/h. Air sacs under the skin and a reinforced skull protect it from the impact. Bass Rock in Scotland hosts over 150,000 gannets, the largest single colony of any seabird in the world.