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Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) Alternate name(s): "North Atlantic Gannet" German name(s): "Basstölpel" Size: 85-97 cm; wing span: 1.7-1.9 m Body mass: 2.3-3.6 kg Wing loading [g/cm2]: 1.2-1.4

Europe: Family Group 4 Family Group 4 Table Great Cormorant European Shag Pygmy Cormorant Northern Gannet Brown Booby Great White Pelican Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Northern Gannets are the largest gannets. The two sexes are identical. Both sexes have different plumages during the breeding season and in eclipse. In breeding plumage, they have a bright yellow-buff helmet, which will fade to pale-yellow in eclipse; otherwise the plumage remains the same all year round. Except large black triangles at the ends of the upperwings, they are all-white. This gives them the appearance from afar of a white cross with two black ends to the crossbar. The pale-grey eyes are surrounded by dark-grey rings; the strong, stragiht bill is grey with fine darker grey grooves. The legs and the fully webbed feet are dark-grey to black. Northern Gannets reach maturity in the fifth year, so there are four types of immature plumages. Juveniles are basically streaked and speckled in various shades of grey all over. Second-year birds already have white underparts and partly white underwings. In the third year only the upperwings remain partly black, while everything is already similar to adults. In the fourth year only individual feathers at or near the trailing edge of the wings remain black.

Taxonomy, classification See Northern Gannet at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Northern Gannet is available HERE . Northern Gannets are a migratory species. Their breeding sites are restricted to rocky, inaccessible parts of coastlines or rocky islands in the northern part of their range, from far-western Canada and New Foundland in the West to the North Cape in Norway in the East. Their migratory routes and their wintering range extend only a few hundred kilometres from the coastlines of North America, Europe and the islands in the North Atlantic, ranging from eastern Mexico and the Caribbean in the West, via New Foundland, southward of Greenland to Iceland, and their European range to the coastline of West Africa in the East (but NOT the open ocean more than typically 500 km from the coastlines). In Europe, Northern Gannets are present from the Kola peninsula in north-western Russia, all the way around the Scandinavian Atlantic coastline, the North Sea and on via the Gulf of Biscaye to the central Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Except for one site in Normandy, France, and the island of Helgoland, Germany, all their breeding sites are along the coastlines of Britain and Ireland, Scotland and its chains of islands and along the western coastline of Norway, up to the North Cape. In winter most Northern Gannets move southward, from the Scottish island chains in the North to the western half of the Mediterranean Sea (in some cases also along the coastline of the eastern Mediterranean). During their migration they can be found on the high seas, or in coastal waters, both in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in the eastern North Sea, up to the narrows between Denmark and Sweden (Skaggerag and Kattegat). Northern Gannets breed on rocky islands or isolated rocky coastlines in the North of their range, while spending much of the rest of the year above the open ocean or coastal waters.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports finding Northern Gannets regularly at Sagres, Algarve, Portugal. They are even more common, found all year round and in good numbers, in the area around Lisbon, e.g. in the port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal. M. Eaton found a Northern Gannet at Land's End, Cornwall, England, in September 2019. C. Pears visited two breeding colonies of Northern Gannets: Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, which is the largest breeding colony of Northern Gannets in England, UK, in September 2014 (and again in September 2025); and Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, UK, which is the largest breeding colony of Northern Gannets in the world, in September 2017. Bass Rock gives the species its scientific name of "bassanus". C. Pears also found Northern Gannets in Alesund, Norway, in September 2024 and in Bergen, Norway, in October 2024.

Photos

ADULT

BREEDING

Sex unknown

Lateral view from above onto the upperparts of a Northern Gannet in breeding plumage in flight; note the yellow-buff helmet (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo Raso, Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal, February 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a Northern Gannet in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Cabo Raso, Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal, February 2019]

Lateral view of three Northern Gannets in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, May 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a mob of Northern Gannets in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, May 2019]

NON-BREEDING

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a Northern Gannet moulting into non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding in breeding plumage; note the pale yellow-buff helmet (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Lateral view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding plumage; this individual has an exceptionally pale head
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Lateral view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding plumage at take-off (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Frontal view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding plumage in flight; note the pale-yellow helmet (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Lateral view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, November 2021]

Lateral/ventral view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Near-dorsal view of a Northern Gannet in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, November 2021]

Group of 4 Northern Gannets; the full image also shows a distant lateral view of two Great Skuas in flight
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

Distant comparison of a Northern Gannet in flight with Great Skuas (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Port of Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, March 2019]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal/ventral view of a fourth(?) calendar year Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Near-dorsal view from above onto a hovering fourth-winter immature Northern Gannet (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Near-lateral view of a third-year immature Northern Gannet; note the remaining black feathers on the inner upperwing
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2018]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a third calendar year Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a third(?) calendar year Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Near-lateral view of a second-year immature Northern Gannet; this bird was found impaled by an angler's hook
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Lateral view of a second-year immature Northern Gannet; this bird was found impaled by an angler's hook
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Second-year immature Northern Gannet being relieved of an angler's hook... (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Second-year immature Northern Gannet being released again (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a second calendar year Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a second calendar year Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Lateral view of a juvenile Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Lateral view of a juvenile Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2020]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Northern Gannet in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2019]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a juvenile Northern Gannet taking off (1 of 3) (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Northern Gannet taking off (2 of 3) (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Northern Gannet taking off (3 of 3) (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Off Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2022]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Mar - Sep

Eggs: 1

Incubation period: 42 - 46 days

Fledging age: 84 - 97 days

Northern Gannets are monogamous and pair for many years if not for life. Once settled in a breeding colony, they will not move to another. The oldest breeding birds are the first to return to the colony. Incubation and fledging times for Northern Gannets, and thereby the total duration of their breeding season, are very long because, although quite large, their eggs are in fact small for birds their size, which means that chicks need time for their development. When nesting on narrow ledges, Northern Gannets will usually face the cliff walls while on the nest. Conditions can be so constrained that near-fledging age birds do not flap their wings to prepare for flight. When their time comes, they perform a leap of faith and either fly or die in the process of trying. Their limited flight skills do not allow them to return to the nest ledge.

Nest building: Male & female

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Primarily male Northern Gannets collect nest material.

Nest

Type: Basket

Material: Seaweed, plants, earth

Height above ground: N/A

Northern Gannets nest on the ground, but nests can be up to ca. 100 m high above the surrounding sea.

Overview of the world's largest Northern Gannet breeding colony, with an estimated 75,000 nests at the time this photo was taken (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bass Rock, Firth of Forth, Scotland, UK, September 2017]

The more precarious the location of a Northern Gannet nest, the better (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

The more precarious the location of a Northern Gannet nest, the better (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Stragglers still at their nests in a Northern Gannet breeding colony on a sheer cliff (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Stragglers still at their nests in a Northern Gannet breeding colony; 3 adults with a near-fledging age chick (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Close-up view of a Northern Gannet chick begging to be fed (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Northern Gannet chick being fed (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

Late stragglers in a Northern Gannet breeding colony - adult with a still mostly downy chick in its nest
(photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2025]

In- and outgoing traffic of Northern Gannets traveling to and from their hunting grounds (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Bempton Cliffs, Yorkshire, England, UK, September 2014]

Eggs

Size: 79 x 50 mm

Colour: First translucent pale-blue, then chalky-white, later stained

Shape: Long elliptical

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Sedentary/roaming

Elementary unit: Flock

In the absence of albatrosses (except for vagrants), Northern Gannets are the largest seabirds in the northern hemisphere. Part of the population will remain around (but not strictly at) the breeding sites (coastal cliffs), others disperse to roam the northern Atlantic, North Sea and Mediterranean Sea, the latter especially in winter. When not nesting, they live not only on the high seas, but also in coastal waters. They can regularly be seen from coastlines, e.g. from elevated headlands.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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