Northern Gannet vs White-tailed Eagle
Morus bassanus compared with Haliaeetus albicilla
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Northern Gannet | White-tailed Eagle |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Morus bassanus | Haliaeetus albicilla |
| Order | Suliformes | Accipitriformes |
| Family | Sulidae | Accipitridae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) | 84.0 cm (33.1 in) |
| Wingspan | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) | 225.0 cm (88.6 in) |
| Weight | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) | 5200.0 g (183.42 oz) |
| Diet | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … | Fish, waterfowl, and carrion. Often pirates food from other birds. Takes fish from the water … |
| Clutch Size | 1 | 1-3 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
White-tailed Eagle
Coastlines, large lakes, and rivers with mature trees or cliffs for nesting. Requires large undisturbed areas.
Song & Call Comparison
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.
White-tailed Eagle
High-pitched, yelping 'klee-klee' and deep barking 'ra-ra-ra'. Less vocal than Bald Eagle but similar chattering quality. Gives gull-like wailing near nest in breeding season.
Geographic Range & Migration
Northern Gannet
North Atlantic, breeding from Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence to Norway, Iceland, and Britain. Winters at sea south to the tropics.
White-tailed Eagle
Northern Europe and Asia from Greenland and Scandinavia to Japan. Reintroduced to Scotland and Ireland.
Conservation Status
Northern Gannet
White-tailed Eagle
How to Tell Them Apart
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
White-tailed Eagle
Brown body with a paler head in adults and a distinctive short white wedge-shaped tail. Massive broad wings in flight. Juveniles are darker overall.
Very large, heavy, pale yellow bill
About These Birds
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.
White-tailed Eagle
The white-tailed eagle is Europe's largest eagle and the fourth-largest eagle in the world. Once extinct in Britain, it has been successfully reintroduced to Scotland and Ireland through conservation programs. These powerful raptors can live over 25 years and form lifelong pair bonds.