Great Blue Heron vs Northern Gannet
Ardea herodias compared with Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Great Blue Heron | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ardea herodias | Morus bassanus |
| Order | Pelecaniformes | Suliformes |
| Family | Ardeidae | Sulidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 117.0 cm (46.1 in) | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Wingspan | 183.0 cm (72.0 in) | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Weight | 2400.0 g (84.66 oz) | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Diet | Primarily fish, also frogs, snakes, small mammals, insects, and other birds. Hunts by standing motionless … | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … |
| Clutch Size | 2-7 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Great Blue Heron
Wetlands of all types including marshes, swamps, riverbanks, lake edges, and coastal shores. Also hunts in fields and meadows.
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Song & Call Comparison
Great Blue Heron
Deep, harsh, croaking 'frahnk-frahnk' call in flight. Also gives low guttural grunts at the nest. Alarmed birds give repeated croaks. Mostly silent for such a large wader.
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
Great Blue Heron
North and Central America from Alaska and southern Canada to the Caribbean and Galapagos Islands.
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
Great Blue Heron
Northern Gannet
How to Tell Them Apart
Great Blue Heron
Blue-grey body with a white head bearing a broad black stripe extending to a long black plume. Rufous-brown thighs. In flight, the neck is folded into an S-shape.
Long, dagger-like yellowish 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
Great Blue Heron
The great blue heron is the largest heron in North America, standing up to 1.4 meters tall. These patient hunters can stand motionless for extended periods before striking at prey with remarkable speed. They nest in large colonies called heronries, often returning to the same site year after year.
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.