Cape Gannet vs Northern Gannet
Morus capensis comparé à Morus bassanus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribut | Cape Gannet | Northern Gannet |
|---|---|---|
| Nom scientifique | Morus capensis | Morus bassanus |
| Ordre | Suliformes | Suliformes |
| Famille | Sulidae | Sulidae |
| Statut de conservation | Endangered | Least Concern |
| Longueur | — | 93,0 cm (36.6 in) |
| Envergure | 90,0 cm (35.4 in) | 180,0 cm (70.9 in) |
| Poids | 2592,6666666666665 g (91.45 oz) | 3000,0 g (105.82 oz) |
| Régime alimentaire | -- | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … |
| Taille de la couvée | 1 | 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.
Song & Call Comparison
Cape Gannet
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
Cape Gannet
Northern Gannet
North Atlantic, breeding from Newfoundland and Gulf of St. Lawrence to Norway, Iceland, and Britain. Winters at sea south to the tropics.
Statut de conservation
Cape Gannet
Northern Gannet
How to Tell Them Apart
Cape Gannet
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
Cape Gannet
84–94 cm, wingspan 171 cm. White with black wingtips; yellow-buff head; blue-grey bill. Breeds only on islands off South Africa and Namibia in the Benguela upwelling. Endangered; dramatic decline due to food competition with purse-seine fisheries. Plunge-dives for anchovy.
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.