GANNETS

GANNET Sula Bassana

Huge (90cm) unmistakable seabird. Watch for white, cigar-shaped body and long straight, slender, black-tipped wings. In summer, yellow head of adult inconspicuous. Plunges spectacularly for fish. Sexes similar.

Juvenile Grey-brown, flecked becoming whiter, reaches adult plumage after three years.

Range and habitat Breeds colonially on clieffs on N and W coasts, dispersing to winter at sea.

Nest Mound of seaweed on bare rocky ledge.

Voice Harsh honks and grating calls at colony.

General Widespread, but breeding colonies few though sometimes enormous.

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