Gannet

Northern gannet — © Zveriki.com, AI-generated image based on the original work of Odd Wellies (https://www.flickr.com/people/28828272@N06), Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
Mass
3570–3827 g
Length
850–1000 mm
Lifespan
5479–10958 days 15–30 years
26675
0
1
northern-gannet
en
northern gannet
Morus bassanus
The Northern Gannet is a large seabird with a wingspan of up to two meters. It lives in the North Atlantic, spots fish from the air, and dives for it from great heights.
The Northern Gannet differs from other gannets with its white plumage with black wingtips and yellow head. It is important for marine nature because it regulates fish populations and serves as food for large predators.
diving from the air
trophic:carnivore
#faf8f1
Mass (adult bird)
2500–3600 g
Mass (chick)
70–3200 g
Mass (fledgling)
2200–3400 g
Mass (egg)
80–110 g
Length (adult bird)
850–1000 mm
Length (fledgling)
800–950 mm
Length (chick)
100–700 mm
Wingspan
1720 mm
Lifespan maximum
13660 days 37 years 5 months
Theoretical lifespan
9677–13825 days 27–38 years
Gestation
43 days 1 month 2 weeks
Litter size
1
Maturity
1460–2190 days 4–6 years
Offspring
1
Repro interval
365 days 1 year
Wings size (adult bird)
1650–1850 mm
Comparable in mass
Handbag
Realm
Nearctic realm
Realm
Marine world
Realm
Palearctic realm
Habitat (whole life)
marine coastal
Landscape
marine coastal benthic
Landscape
marine coastal demersal
Climate
Always very wet
Climate
Warm or hot summer
Landscape
marine
Climate
Warm summer
Climate
Warm or hot summer and rains
Climate
Temperate sea
Climate
Cold sea
Food environment
aerial
Shelter
nest
Trophic type
carnivore
5478.75
10957.5
9677.24755037587
13824.639357679816
850.0
1000.0
3570.012203989677
3826.6963719724276
Worker
Were {name} like {animal}, then:
birth time
Submerges underwater to reach prey or food at depth.
Pelagic Ocean
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
summer from pleasant to very hot
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult bird
Maturity
fish of small size
Handbag
About health
from 1.2 to 4.8 kilograms, 0.7 – 1.4 meters
Warm or hot summer and rains
marine coastal
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
aerial
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
diving
mo
live fish
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
Filters
small fish
Warm or hot summer
Palearctic realm
Upcoming birthdays
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Feet color
Wanderers
Feeding occurs in open air space above ground or water.
Wings size
far from shore, deep water, large whales and sharks live here
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
marine coastal demersal
More:
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
marine coastal benthic
Business sausages
Lifespan average
water is almost always cold, there may be ice in winter, not hot in summer
fledgling
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
fish
end of acceleration
benthic biotope of coastal marine waters
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Cold sea
water is cool or warm, cold in winter, comfortable to swim in summer
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
flight
Pets
Nearctic realm
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Share
Where are they found?
all seas and oceans
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
Marine world
The basics
My weight?
demersal biotope of coastal marine waters
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
Temperate sea
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Gestation
{name} birthday
Nearctic realm
Link copied
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
Eyes color
On the map
all life stages
Female ♀
Down feathers color
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0 Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
lots of rain, summer from warm to very hot
sq mm
yr
Beak color
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Marine world
from birth to death
Plumage color
Duration
saline marine habitat
This is me
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Always very wet
Gamers
How are they built?
marine
shallow near the shore, water rises and falls, crabs live here
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
coastal marine zone — shelf, neritic zone
My age?
wk
My size?
Asexual
swap
active predation
Who among us will transform as if by magic and become like {animal}?
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Littoral Zone
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
Capturing or collecting food while airborne.
whole life
Hermaphrodite ⚥
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
egg
Length
kg
Observations
◉{N} more on tap
chick
pupa
imago
young bird
northern-gannet
severnaya-olusha
northern-gannet
atysh-shmaly
olusha-paunochnaya
hyusisayin-xevahav
shirokatsuodori
northern-gannet
severnaya-olusha
bugbang-ganes
severnaya-olusha
bluna
northern-gannet
severnaya-olusha
northern-gannet
  • The northern gannet can dive to a depth of up to 12–15 m. However, it usually dives shallowly.
  • Male northern gannets are more aggressive when defending their nest and can seriously injure an opponent in a fight. A confrontation begins with a threatening posture, in which the male lowers its beak and half-spreads its wings.
  • The northern gannet cannot take off in calm weather and rough sea conditions. In these conditions, it rests for a long time on water, as it is unable to rise into the air.
  • The northern gannet lives up to 25 years in the wild. In the first year of life, mortality can reach 65% under unfavorable conditions.
  • The northern gannet is the northernmost species in the gull family and the only one found in Europe. It forms colonies of several thousand pairs.
  • Young northern gannets migrate a distance of 3000–5000 km, reaching the coasts and islands of Northwest Africa. This route is especially long in the eastern Atlantic.
  • A northern gannet chick weighs more than its parents at 11–12 weeks old, but still cannot fly or catch food. During this time, it is left without food and jumps from a cliff, glides several hundred meters, and swims away from the shore.
  • A northern gannet chick is born blind and covered only with black skin. The first white down appears only after 11 days. During this time, it is carefully warmed by one of the parents’ feet.
  • The northern gannet dives into water from a height of 10–30 m to catch fish, plunging headfirst several meters underwater. During the fall, it manages to maneuver to follow the moving prey.
  • The feathers of the northern gannet have a water-repellent structure. Like those of most seabirds, they allow the bird to stay underwater for a long time.

Age

  • The northern gannet lives up to 25 years in the wild. In the first year of life, mortality can reach 65% under unfavorable conditions.
  • A northern gannet chick is born blind and covered only with black skin. The first white down appears only after 11 days. During this time, it is carefully warmed by one of the parents’ feet.

Phenotype

  • The northern gannet dives into water from a height of 10–30 m to catch fish, plunging headfirst several meters underwater. During the fall, it manages to maneuver to follow the moving prey.
  • The feathers of the northern gannet have a water-repellent structure. Like those of most seabirds, they allow the bird to stay underwater for a long time.

Physiology

  • The feathers of the northern gannet have a water-repellent structure. Like those of most seabirds, they allow the bird to stay underwater for a long time.

Geography

  • The northern gannet can dive to a depth of up to 12–15 m. However, it usually dives shallowly.
  • The northern gannet is the northernmost species in the gull family and the only one found in Europe. It forms colonies of several thousand pairs.
  • Young northern gannets migrate a distance of 3000–5000 km, reaching the coasts and islands of Northwest Africa. This route is especially long in the eastern Atlantic.
  • The northern gannet dives into water from a height of 10–30 m to catch fish, plunging headfirst several meters underwater. During the fall, it manages to maneuver to follow the moving prey.

Reproduction

  • Male northern gannets are more aggressive when defending their nest and can seriously injure an opponent in a fight. A confrontation begins with a threatening posture, in which the male lowers its beak and half-spreads its wings.
  • The northern gannet can dive to a depth of up to 12–15 m. However, it usually dives shallowly.
  • Male northern gannets are more aggressive when defending their nest and can seriously injure an opponent in a fight. A confrontation begins with a threatening posture, in which the male lowers its beak and half-spreads its wings.
  • The northern gannet cannot take off in calm weather and rough sea conditions. In these conditions, it rests for a long time on water, as it is unable to rise into the air.
  • Young northern gannets migrate a distance of 3000–5000 km, reaching the coasts and islands of Northwest Africa. This route is especially long in the eastern Atlantic.
  • A northern gannet chick weighs more than its parents at 11–12 weeks old, but still cannot fly or catch food. During this time, it is left without food and jumps from a cliff, glides several hundred meters, and swims away from the shore.
  • The northern gannet dives into water from a height of 10–30 m to catch fish, plunging headfirst several meters underwater. During the fall, it manages to maneuver to follow the moving prey.
  • The feathers of the northern gannet have a water-repellent structure. Like those of most seabirds, they allow the bird to stay underwater for a long time.