King Penguin vs Northern Gannet
Aptenodytes patagonicus compared with Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | King Penguin | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Aptenodytes patagonicus | Morus bassanus |
| Order | Sphenisciformes | Suliformes |
| Family | Spheniscidae | Sulidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 95.0 cm (37.4 in) | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Wingspan | 64.0 cm (25.2 in) | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Weight | 14000.0 g (493.84 oz) | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Diet | Primarily lanternfish and squid caught during deep dives. Routinely dives to 100-300 meters, sometimes exceeding … | 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
King Penguin
Breeds on sub-Antarctic islands with flat or gently sloping beaches. Forages in the Southern Ocean.
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Song & Call Comparison
King Penguin
Uses individually unique complex calls for mate and chick recognition in noisy colonies. Produces a loud, musical trumpeting. Chick whistles are distinctive per family unit.
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
King Penguin
Sub-Antarctic islands including South Georgia, Crozet, Kerguelen, Macquarie, and Falkland 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
King Penguin
Northern Gannet
How to Tell Them Apart
King Penguin
Dark blue-grey back with white belly. Vivid orange-gold auricular patches on the sides of the head and upper breast. Silvery-grey upperparts.
Long, slender, slightly decurved bill with orange mandible plates
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
King Penguin
The king penguin is the second-largest penguin species, known for its striking orange-gold head markings. Unlike most penguins, king penguins do not build nests — they incubate their single egg on their feet. Their 14-16 month breeding cycle is the longest of any penguin species.
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.