Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Photo: Andrew Green/Flickr Creative Commons
Northern Gannet
Morus bassanus
| Conservation status | Population declined drastically during 19th century owing to taking of eggs and slaughter of adults; this occurred over much of range, but especially off eastern Canada. With protection, populations began to recover early in 20th century, with increase apparently continuing to present day. |
|---|---|
| Family | Boobies and Gannets |
| Habitat | Oceanic; often well offshore. Breeds colonially on sea cliffs. Forages at sea, from fairly close inshore to out of sight of land, but mostly over waters of continental shelf. In cold-water areas in summer, but winters to edge of tropics. Nests on cliffs and ledges of islands, sometimes on steep protected cliffs of mainland. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
Forages by plunging headfirst into water, sometimes from more than 100' above surface. Also forages while swimming, submerging head to peer below surface and then diving and swimming underwater. May take food at surface, or may steal food from other birds.
Eggs
One. Pale blue to white, becoming nest-stained. Incubation is by both sexes, 42-46 days. Young: Both parents feed young, by regurgitation. Age at first flight 84-97 days. Only one young raised per year.
Young
Both parents feed young, by regurgitation. Age at first flight 84-97 days. Only one young raised per year.
Diet
Mainly fish. Feeds mostly on small fish (1-12" in length) of types that live in dense schools, including herring, sand lance, cod, pollack, menhaden. Also may eat some squid. Sometimes scavenges for scraps and offal around fishing boats.
Nesting
Usually first breeds at age of 5-6 years, and may mate for life. Breeds in tightly packed colonies, with much competition for prime nest sites. Male claims nest territory and displays to attract mate, with exaggerated sideways shaking of head. Mated pairs greet each other by standing face to face, wings out, knocking bills together and bowing. Nest: Site is on ledge or flat ground, often within 2-3 feet of other nesting gannets. Nest (built mostly by male) is pile of grass, seaweed, dirt, feathers, compacted and held together by droppings, used by same pair for years and gradually building up to tall mound.
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- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
Songs and Calls
Guttural croak or grunt, heard only on breeding islands.How climate change could affect this bird's range
In the broadest and most detailed study of its kind, Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change.
Read more: climate.audubon.org
Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. We call this the bird’s “climatic range.”
The colors indicate the season in which the bird may find suitable conditions— blue for winter, yellow for summer (breeding), and green for where they overlap (indicating their presence year-round).
The darker the shaded area, the more likely it is the bird species will find suitable climate conditions to survive there.
The outline of the approximate current range for each season remains fixed in each frame, allowing you to compare how the range will expand, contract, or shift in the future.
The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.
You can play or pause the animation with the orange button in the lower left, or select an individual frame to study by clicking on its year.
Northern Gannet In the News More News
Conservation
Funds From the Deepwater Horizon Settlement Are Flowing Into the Gulf States
A new Audubon report pinpoints 30 projects that, if financed, would be a boon for birds and people alike.
Letter From The Editor
That Thing with Feathers
When the world starts to look dark, it can help to pay close attention to the beauty around us.
Flock Together
An Annual Rescue Mission to Free Northern Gannets Tangled in Plastic Trash
Without human intervention, dozens of the magnificent seabirds would starve to death at their nesting site each year.
