Northern Fulmar vs Northern Gannet
Fulmarus glacialis compared with Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Northern Fulmar | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Fulmarus glacialis | Morus bassanus |
| Order | Procellariiformes | Suliformes |
| Family | Procellariidae | Sulidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 47.0 cm (18.5 in) | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Wingspan | 107.0 cm (42.1 in) | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Weight | 750.0 g (26.46 oz) | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Diet | Fish, squid, crustaceans, offal from fishing vessels, and zooplankton. Feeds by surface-seizing and shallow plunge-diving. | 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
Northern Fulmar
Open ocean and sea cliffs. Breeds on cliff ledges and grassy slopes on northern coastlines. Pelagic outside breeding season.
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Song & Call Comparison
Northern Fulmar
A nasal, cackling 'kak-kak-kak-kak' or grunting 'uh-uh-uh' at the nest and colony. Less melodic than petrels. In flight gives occasional single nasal calls.
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
Northern Fulmar
North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Breeds from the Arctic south to Britain, France, and New England.
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
Northern Fulmar
Northern Gannet
How to Tell Them Apart
Northern Fulmar
Light morph: white head and underparts with grey wings and back. Dark morph: entirely grey. Tube-nosed bill and stiff-winged flight distinctive at sea.
Yellowish hooked bill with prominent tubular nostrils on top
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
Northern Fulmar
The northern fulmar is a long-lived seabird that can survive over 40 years. It defends its nest by projectile-vomiting a foul-smelling stomach oil at intruders, which can mat the feathers of predators and cause fatal loss of waterproofing. Fulmars have expanded their breeding range dramatically southward over the past two centuries.
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.