Griffon Vulture vs Northern Gannet
Gyps fulvus compared with Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Griffon Vulture | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Gyps fulvus | Morus bassanus |
| Order | Accipitriformes | Suliformes |
| Family | Accipitridae | Sulidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 100.0 cm (39.4 in) | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Wingspan | 260.0 cm (102.4 in) | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Weight | 8500.0 g (299.83 oz) | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Diet | Exclusively carrion, primarily large mammal carcasses. Feeds communally, with groups of vultures able to strip … | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … |
| Clutch Size | 1 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Shared Habitats
None
Griffon Vulture only
Northern Gannet only
Griffon Vulture
Mountains, cliffs, and open grasslands. Nests on cliff ledges in colonies. Requires thermals for soaring flight.
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Song & Call Comparison
Griffon Vulture
Generally silent; hisses and grunts at carrion with other vultures. Gives low croaking 'arrr' near nest. At colonies produces cackling and grunting — not melodic vocalizations.
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
Griffon Vulture
Southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Resident in most of its range.
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
Griffon Vulture
Northern Gannet
How to Tell Them Apart
Griffon Vulture
Tawny-brown body with darker flight feathers. White neck ruff and bare greyish head. Long broad wings held flat when soaring.
Hooked yellowish bill adapted for tearing carrion
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
Griffon Vulture
The griffon vulture is one of Europe's largest flying birds and a crucial scavenger in Mediterranean ecosystems. These social birds nest in large cliff colonies and can soar for hours using thermals without flapping. Vulture populations faced a crisis from the veterinary drug diclofenac, which proved fatal when consumed through contaminated carcasses.
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.