Gannet
| Gannet Temporal range: Early Miocene to recent | |
|---|---|
| Northern gannets (Morus bassanus) on Heligoland | |
| Northern gannet calls recorded on Grassholm Island, Wales | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Suliformes |
| Family: | Sulidae |
| Genus: | Morus Vieillot, 1816 |
| Type species | |
| Pelecanus bassanus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Moris | |
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. They are known as 'solan' or 'solan goose' in Scotland. A common misconception is that the Scottish name is 'guga' but this is the Gaelic name referring to the chicks only.
Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads, black-tipped wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, having a wingspan of up to two metres (6+1⁄2 feet). The other two species occur in the temperate seas around southern Africa, southern Australia, and New Zealand.