Cape Gannet
Photo: Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 2.0

Boobies and Gannets

Cape Gannet

Morus capensis

ENEndangered
Family
Boobies and Gannets (Sulidae)
Order
Suliformes

Overview

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 86 km/h (25 and 53 mph)), its beak has no external nostrils into which the water might be forced. The widely mentioned maximum speed of 120 km/h has never been measured and published.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Breeds islands off southern Africa; disperses to coastal Mozambique.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.