Northern Gannet

Overview

The Northern Gannet is a large, striking seabird of the North Atlantic, immediately recognizable by its bright white body, black-tipped wings, and a soft buffy-yellow wash across the head and neck. It nests in dense, noisy colonies on coastal cliffs and offshore stacks.

Juveniles look completely different from adults, starting out dark brown speckled with white and gradually acquiring the clean white adult plumage over about four to five years through successive molts, so feathers found from this species can vary widely depending on the bird's age.

Northern Gannet feathers vary considerably depending on the age of the bird.

• Adult body feathers: Brilliant white, with a soft buffy-yellow tinge concentrated on the head and neck feathers.
• Adult flight feathers: Primaries and outer secondaries are solid black, contrasting sharply with the white body and wing coverts.
• Juvenile and immature feathers: Dark grayish-brown overall, densely speckled or spotted with white, gradually becoming patchier and whiter with each successive molt until full adult plumage is reached.
• Compared to Cape Gannet: Adult Northern Gannet lacks the black tail and black secondary band seen in the similar Cape Gannet, showing an all-white tail and mostly white secondaries instead.

Adults are white overall with black primaries and outer secondaries and a buffy-yellow wash on the head and neck that is most pronounced in breeding condition. Sexes look alike. Juveniles are dark brown densely spotted with white, and plumage becomes progressively paler and more patterned with each molt over roughly four to five years before reaching the clean adult pattern. This extended immaturity period is unusual among seabirds and means intermediate-aged birds show highly variable, mottled black-brown-and-white plumage.

Northern Gannets breed in large colonies on steep sea cliffs and offshore rock stacks around the North Atlantic, including islands off the coasts of the British Isles, and eastern Canada. Outside the breeding season they range widely over the open Atlantic and can be seen migrating along coastlines, wintering as far south as the subtropical Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico region.

Gannets are famous for their spectacular plunge-diving, folding their wings back and dropping from considerable heights to strike the water at high speed in pursuit of schooling fish. They typically feed in large, active flocks where prey is abundant. Nesting occurs in dense, noisy colonies on cliffs, with pairs building a bulky nest and raising a single chick over an extended nestling period. Calls are harsh, repeated barking or croaking notes given constantly at breeding colonies.