Northern Gannet vs Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Morus bassanus compared with Cicinnurus respublica
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Northern Gannet | Wilson's Bird-of-paradise |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Morus bassanus | Cicinnurus respublica |
| Order | Suliformes | Passeriformes |
| Family | Sulidae | Paradisaeidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Near Threatened |
| Length | 93.0 cm (36.6 in) | 16.0 cm (6.3 in) |
| Wingspan | 180.0 cm (70.9 in) | 19.0 cm (7.5 in) |
| Weight | 3000.0 g (105.82 oz) | 55.0 g (1.94 oz) |
| Diet | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … | Fruit and insects gleaned from the forest canopy and subcanopy. Particularly favors figs. |
| Clutch Size | 1 | -- |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Lowland and hill forests on the small islands of Waigeo and Batanta in the Raja Ampat archipelago, Indonesia.
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.
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Male gives a harsh, nasal 'waah' or 'eeah' from display perch. Song is poorly documented in wild. Also produces mechanical rattling wing sounds during display flights.
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.
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Endemic to the islands of Waigeo and Batanta off the northwestern tip of New Guinea, Indonesia.
Conservation Status
Northern Gannet
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
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
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Males have a brilliant red back, yellow nape, turquoise blue bare crown, and green breast shield. Violet-blue curled tail wires. Females are brownish with bare blue crown.
Short, slightly curved greyish 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.
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Wilson's bird-of-paradise is one of the most extraordinarily colored birds on Earth. Males meticulously clear a patch of forest floor as a display court, removing every leaf and twig. The species was virtually unknown to science until the late 20th century due to its restricted island range.