Japanese White-eye vs Northern Gannet
Zosterops japonicus compared with Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Japanese White-eye | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Zosterops japonicus | Morus bassanus |
| Order | Passeriformes | Suliformes |
| Family | Zosteropidae | Sulidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 11.5 cm (4.5 in) | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Wingspan | 17.0 cm (6.7 in) | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Weight | 11.0 g (0.39 oz) | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Diet | Insects, nectar, and fruit. Active gleaner that flits through foliage and visits flowers. Important pollinator … | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … |
| Clutch Size | 2-6 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Japanese White-eye
Broadleaf evergreen forests, gardens, parks, and suburban areas. Highly adaptable and common in East Asian gardens.
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Song & Call Comparison
Japanese White-eye
Sweet, high-pitched 'tsee-tsee-tsee' whistle and soft melodic warbling. Flocks produce a continuous tinkling chorus. Alarm is a sharper 'tset'. Song is gentle and rhythmic.
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
Japanese White-eye
East Asia including Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Introduced to Hawaii and other Pacific 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
Japanese White-eye
Northern Gannet
How to Tell Them Apart
Japanese White-eye
Olive-green upperparts with a bright white eye-ring. Yellow throat and undertail coverts. Greyish-white belly.
Thin, pointed, slightly decurved dark 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
Japanese White-eye
The Japanese white-eye is a familiar garden bird across East Asia, beloved in Japan where it is called mejiro. These sociable birds form flocks outside the breeding season and are important pollinators of plum and cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, introduced populations in Hawaii have become invasive, competing with native honeycreepers.
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.