Cape gannet
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Subclass
Infraclass
Superorder
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Morus capensis
Weight
2600
92
goz
g oz 
Length
85-94
33.5-37
cminch
cm inch 

The Cape gannet (Morus capensis ) is a large seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae.

They are easily identified by their large size, black and white plumage and distinctive yellow crown and hindneck. The pale blue bill is pointed with fine serrations near the tip; perhaps because of the depth and speed of the gannet's dive when fishing (depending on altitude, gannets hit the water at speeds of between 40 and 120 km/h (25 and 75 mph)), its beak has no external nostrils into which the water might be forced.

Di

Diurnal

Ca

Carnivore

Pi

Piscivores

Na

Natatorial

No

Nomadic

Te

Terrestrial

Co

Congregatory

Mo

Monogamy

Co

Colonial

So

Social

No

Not a migrant

C

starts with

Appearance

When seen in flight the snow-white body with the black tail, primaries and secondaries, and dark bill makes them easy to identify. At closer range the distinctive golden crown and nape, which gradually becomes white on the neck, is noticeable. Juveniles and immatures are dark brown with a pale bill, and can resemble the dark-coloured boobies at first glance. Adults are about 84–94 cm (33–37 in) long and have a 171–185 cm (67–73 in) wingspan and weigh ca. 2.6 kg (5.7 lb).

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The Cape gannet is identified from the Australasian gannet by the all-black tail, a longer black stripe down the throat (from underneath the beak) and more extensive black on the face, but all of these features are difficult to identify unless at close proximity. The Cape gannet is also very similar to the northern gannet, but the latter differs from its entirely white tail and its wings, which are only black at the tip. It also is similar to the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii ).

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Distribution

Geography

Continents
Biogeographical realms

Vagrancy to the northern Atlantic Ocean has been reported for the Cape gannet on several occasions, but until 2016 was believed to be unproven. Crochet and Haas examined the status of the species in the western Palearctic realm. They list a number of historical claims which had not been accepted by national bird records committees, and analyse the single record which had hitherto been widely accepted, a juvenile recovered offshore from Western Sahara in 1966. In relation to the latter bird, they conclude that a mistake had occurred; the original data placed the bird inland, in Chad, with the offshore Western Saharan location being the result of an attempt to correct this to a more plausible location. A retransposition of the original latitude and longitude gives a location off the Namibian coast, well within the regular wintering range of the species. As a result, they recommended that the Cape gannet be deleted from the Western Palearctic list. However, on 14 April 2016, a Cape gannet was photographed at sea off Flores in the Azores. The species has been discussed as a possible vagrant to Britain and Ireland, and there have been a number of claimed sightings, including one in December 2020 off the Isle of Wight, but there is yet to be an accepted record in the Western Palearctic apart from the Azores record. One Spanish record from 1985 has been accepted as either a Cape gannet or an Australasian gannet.

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Individuals have also been photographed in other locations far from the species' usual range, including off Peru in 1999 and Oman in 2004.

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Cape gannet habitat map

Climate zones

Cape gannet habitat map
Cape gannet
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Habits and Lifestyle

Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

Cape gannets are powerful fliers, using mainly a flap-gliding technique, which is more energy consuming than the dynamic-soaring favoured by albatrosses. As all Sulids, they are fish-eating birds that plunge-dive from considerable height.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR

Gannet pairs may remain together over several seasons. They perform elaborate greeting rituals at the nest, stretching their bills and necks skywards and gently tapping bills together.

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Cape gannets begin breeding in August or September. Typically the clutch is a single bluish egg, which soon becomes soiled. Both parents are actively involved in the incubation process which lasts for 42 to 46 days until hatching. Gannets use their foot webs to incubate the egg. The foot webs, which are richly irrigated with blood vessels are wrapped around the egg.

The hatchling is black, naked and blind, it weighs only about 70 g (2.5 oz), but within three weeks its body mass is one third of that of an adult. At eight weeks the chick outweighs the adult, and this remains so until it becomes a fledgling at 95–105 days of age.

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Population

Population number

Numbers of Cape gannets at the Namibian islands have declined considerably between 1956 and 2000 from 114,600 to 18,200 breeding pairs respectively, an 84% decrease in less than fifty years. This contrasts with the trends at the South African islands where numbers have increased about 4.3 times during the same period, from 34,400 to 148,000 breeding pairs.

References

1. Cape gannet Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_gannet
2. Cape gannet on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22696668/132587992
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/515403

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