| The Gannet is larger than any gull reaching a length of between
87 to 100cm with a wingspan of up to 180cm. Both sexes are similar in appearance
- white with black wing-tips and yellow on the back of the head. Young Gannets
are slate grey on first leaving the nest and slowly gain adult colours over
the next 3 years. Gannets have long pointed bodies, wings, tails and even
beaks. They feed by plunge-diving for fish, diving into the sea from height
at great speeds (up to 100 km per hour). When they first leave the nest
the young cannot fly, instead they swim south towards the West African coast.
They stay there until they are 2 or 3 years old before returning to the
breeding colonies, however they do not breed until they are 5 or 6, adult
birds often living to 20 years or more. |
