Northern Gannet: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Seabirds · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. To fish, it folds back its wings and pierces the sea like an arrow, hitting the water at up to 100 km/h.
2. Built for diving, it has nostrils inside its bill that can be shut tight, and strong inner eyelids that shield its eyes.
3. It gulps its catch down underwater before coming back up. A gannet never flies off carrying a fish in its bill.
4. Its single egg is kept warm for 42 to 46 days, wrapped in the parent's warm, webbed feet.
5. At 84 to 97 days old, the young gannet leaps off the cliff and flies for the first time, with no chance to practise first.

The quiz

1. How fast can a gannet hit the water when it dives?

• Up to 10 km/h
• Up to 100 km/h (correct)
• Up to 25 km/h
• Up to 400 km/h

Diving gannets can strike the sea as fast as 100 km/h.

2. Where are a gannet's nostrils?

• On top of its head
• Under its wings
• Inside its bill (correct)
• At the tip of its bill

Its nostrils sit within the bill and shut to keep water out.

3. What does a gannet do with a fish it catches?

• Carries it home in its bill
• Drops it on rocks first
• Swallows it underwater (correct)
• Hides it in seaweed

It swallows its catch before surfacing and never flies with a fish in its bill.

4. What does a gannet use to keep its egg warm?

• Its webbed feet (correct)
• A pile of warm sand
• Its tail feathers only
• Rotting seaweed

During incubation the egg is wrapped in the parent's warm, webbed feet.

5. How does a young gannet learn to fly?

• Its parents carry it on their back
• It practises short hops for weeks
• It never flies, it only swims
• It leaps off a cliff with no practice (correct)

It launches itself off a cliff and flies, something it cannot practise beforehand.

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