Northern Gannet

seabirds · North Atlantic · dive hunters · ocean acrobats

Huge wingspan flyer. Northern gannets have wingspans up to 180 centimeters (about as wide as a tall adult is tall), making them the biggest seabirds in the northern Atlantic Ocean.

Master divers from the sky. These birds plunge-dive from high in the air to catch fish, folding their long wings tight as they shoot down toward the water like feathered missiles.

Growing into white. Baby gannets are grey-brown and fluffy, but it takes five whole years for them to turn into the sleek, mostly white adults with beautiful cream-colored heads.

Built for speed. Their streamlined bodies, long necks, and slender wings are perfectly designed to cut through air and water with incredible precision when hunting.

Atlantic coast dwellers. Northern gannets live along the coasts of the North Atlantic, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America where they nest together in huge colonies.