Northern Gannet (First Winter) (Gibraltar)
A first-winter Northern Gannet is a young bird in its earliest stage of life, easily recognized by its dark, mottled plumage. Instead of the bright white body of adults, it has a brownish body covered in white speckles, with darker wings and tail. The head and neck are also brown, and the bill is gray and less robust than that of an adult. During this stage, Northern Gannets spend most of their time at sea, gradually learning how to plunge-dive and hunt fish efficiently. Over the next several years, they slowly lose the dark markings and develop the clean white feathers and pale blue eye ring of a fully mature gannet.
Northern Gannet (First Winter) (Gibraltar)
A first-winter Northern Gannet is a young bird in its earliest stage of life, easily recognized by its dark, mottled plumage. Instead of the bright white body of adults, it has a brownish body covered in white speckles, with darker wings and tail. The head and neck are also brown, and the bill is gray and less robust than that of an adult. During this stage, Northern Gannets spend most of their time at sea, gradually learning how to plunge-dive and hunt fish efficiently. Over the next several years, they slowly lose the dark markings and develop the clean white feathers and pale blue eye ring of a fully mature gannet.