Australasian Gannet

The Australasian Gannet is a big, elegant seabird with brilliant white plumage set off by black flight feathers and a warm apricot-yellow wash on the head. Its long, straight bill and streamlined, cigar-shaped body are built for powerful, high-speed plunge dives, and in flight it shows crisp black-and-white contrast with a pointed tail.

Colonies range from a handful of pairs on rocky stacks to enormous, densely packed cities of thousands of birds, and the species is a familiar and much-loved sight along the coasts of southeastern Australia and New Zealand.

Key field marks

• White body with black wingtips
• Golden-buff head fading into white neck
• Black central tail feathers, distinguishing it from Cape Gannet
• Pale, straight, dagger-shaped bill

Similar species

• Cape Gannet looks almost identical but lacks black central tail feathers and occurs off southern Africa rather than Australasia.
• Northern Gannet is a larger, non-overlapping relative found in the North Atlantic.
• Immature birds are mottled grey-brown and gradually whiten over three to four years before reaching full adult plumage.

Australasian Gannets breed on offshore islands, rock stacks, and a few mainland headlands around southeastern Australia (including Port Phillip Bay) and New Zealand, where colonies such as Cape Kidnappers and Muriwai are well known. They forage over continental shelf waters, often visible from shore as they patrol and dive along coastlines.

After breeding, many birds, especially juveniles, disperse across the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, with some individuals undertaking substantial trans-Tasman movements before returning to breed.

Behavior

These gannets are dramatic plunge-divers, climbing to height before folding into a streamlined dart and hitting the water at speed to seize fish; they often hunt in loose flocks over baitfish schools alongside dolphins and other seabirds.

Voice

Colonies are noisy, with birds giving harsh, rhythmic "urrah" calls during greeting ceremonies, bill-fencing displays, and territorial disputes at the nest.

Feeding

Small schooling fish and squid make up the bulk of the diet, located visually from the air before a steep dive.

Nesting and breeding

Pairs are typically monogamous and reuse the same nest site over multiple seasons, building a mound of seaweed, guano, and debris; a single egg is incubated by both parents, warmed under the webs of their feet rather than a brood patch.