Northern Gannet vs Wandering Albatross
Morus bassanus comparado com Diomedea exulans
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Atributo | Northern Gannet | Wandering Albatross |
|---|---|---|
| Nome científico | Morus bassanus | Diomedea exulans |
| Ordem | Suliformes | Procellariiformes |
| Família | Sulidae | Diomedeidae |
| Estado de conservação | Least Concern | Vulnerable |
| Comprimento | 93,0 cm (36.6 in) | 117,0 cm (46.1 in) |
| Envergadura | 180,0 cm (70.9 in) | 320,0 cm (126.0 in) |
| Peso | 3000,0 g (105.82 oz) | 9000,0 g (317.47 oz) |
| Dieta | Shoaling fish, especially mackerel, herring, and capelin. Plunge-dives from heights of 30 meters at speeds … | Squid, fish, and crustaceans caught from the ocean surface, often at night. Follows fishing vessels … |
| Tamanho da postura | 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.
Wandering Albatross
Open ocean of the Southern Hemisphere. Breeds on remote sub-Antarctic islands. Spends years at sea between breeding attempts.
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.
Wandering Albatross
At nesting colonies emits a loud braying 'waaah' and guttural grunts. Silent at sea for most of the year. Courtship involves ritualized mutual bill-clapping and moaning calls.
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.
Wandering Albatross
Southern Ocean circumpolar, breeding on South Georgia, Crozet, Kerguelen, and other sub-Antarctic islands.
Estado de conservação
Northern Gannet
Wandering Albatross
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
Wandering Albatross
Adults are mostly white with black trailing edges to the wings. Juveniles are chocolate brown, whitening progressively over 5-10 years. Pink bill and pale feet.
Very large pink bill with a hooked tip and visible tubular nostrils
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.
Wandering Albatross
The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird, reaching up to 3.5 meters. These oceanic nomads can circumnavigate the globe, covering over 120,000 km per year using dynamic soaring with minimal wing flapping. Pairs mate for life and may live over 60 years.