Gannet, << GAN iht, >> is a large, white sea bird with black-tipped wings. It often helps fishing crews because it follows schools of herring and other fish and thus shows where the fish are. The gannet dives from the air and plunges under the water for the fish.
Gannets have strong, sharp bills, webbed feet, and a small pouch beneath their throats. They grow to about 3 feet (90 centimeters) long. They make nests of seaweed on rocky cliffs on Bird Rock and Bonaventure in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and on islets off the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, and Norway. They are tame, and the mother will not move off her one pale, greenish or bluish-white egg when a person comes near. Some tropical relatives of the gannet are called boobies (see Booby).
