Northern Gannet vs Rock Pigeon
Morus bassanus comparado com Columba livia
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Atributo | Northern Gannet | Rock Pigeon |
|---|---|---|
| Nome científico | Morus bassanus | Columba livia |
| Ordem | Suliformes | Columbiformes |
| Família | Sulidae | Columbidae |
| Estado de conservação | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Comprimento | 93,0 cm (36.6 in) | 33,0 cm (13.0 in) |
| Envergadura | 180,0 cm (70.9 in) | 68,0 cm (26.8 in) |
| Peso | 3000,0 g (105.82 oz) | 300,0 g (10.58 oz) |
| Dieta | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … | Seeds, grain, fruit, and human food scraps. Primarily a ground feeder. Feral birds are heavily … |
| Tamanho da postura | 1 | 2 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Northern Gannet
Open ocean and coastal waters. Breeds in dense colonies on steep rocky islands and sea stacks.
Rock Pigeon
Originally cliff-nesting in Mediterranean regions. Now the quintessential urban bird, inhabiting cities worldwide on every continent.
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.
Rock Pigeon
Soft, rhythmic cooing 'roo-c'too-coo' repeated multiple times, with emphasis on second syllable. Male courtship coo is deeper and more persistent. Wing-clapping on takeoff is loud.
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.
Rock Pigeon
Native to Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. Feral populations on every continent except Antarctica.
Estado de conservação
Northern Gannet
Rock Pigeon
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
Rock Pigeon
Wild-type has a blue-grey body with iridescent green and purple neck feathers, two black wing bars, and a white rump. Feral populations show enormous color variation.
Slender dark bill with a white fleshy cere at the base
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.
Rock Pigeon
The rock pigeon is the ancestor of all domestic pigeon breeds and one of the most abundant birds in cities worldwide. Pigeons have served humans as messengers, food, and subjects for scientific research — their homing ability and vision have been studied extensively. Darwin's study of pigeon breeding contributed to his theory of evolution.