Gannet
Gannet – Largest North Atlantic Seabird
The gannet is the largest sea bird in the North Atlantic. They can dive from 30 meters and go speeds of 100 km/h as they hit the water, thus diving quite deep to catch their prey.
Physical Characteristics
Gannets have a black and white body and a yellow head. They also have two meter long pointed wings and long bills. They are quite unusual as they have no external nostrils, air sacs in the face and under the skin to soften their body hitting the water when they dive for food, plus they have eyes that are set far forward on their face so they can judge distance with binocular vision.
Habitat and Location
Northern gannets live in the North Atlantic, and two other kinds of gannets live in Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Gannets are also found in Iceland, Canada, Scotland, UK, Ireland, France, Faroe Islands, Shetland Isles, Norway, and nearly 20 percent of them live in St Kilda in Scotland.
Diet
Gannets eat fish and squid that they dive deep into the ocean to catch.
Breeding Facts
Gannets breed in colonies on the coast of islands in the thousands together. They lay one chalky colored blue egg. Gannets are unusual because it takes the young bird a full five years to mature. The immature birds are fed by their parents regurgitating their meals for them to eat.