The Gannet

Poyser Monographs

by Bryan Nelson

The author is internationally known for his work on the North Atlantic gannet and the boobies. His studies of the gannetry on the Bass Rock over many years have formed the basis for most of our knowledge of the gannet's ecology, its breeding cycle and behaviour. The present work is a distillation of the studies and researches on Sula bassana in Europe and North America, with frequent reference to the African and Australasian gannets. There is also a chapter on the boobies, all of which have been studied at first hand by the author. Chapter topics are plumage, shape, structure and voice; numbers and distribution; behaviour; ecology; the bird at sea; the gannet family and the order; the gannet and man. There are many tables, maps and a full bibliography. The authoritative text is complemented by John Busby's brilliant and evocative drawings, plus 32 pages of photographs, many unpublished hitherto.

1000 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1978

About the author

Bryan Nelson was a British ornithologist, environmental activist and academic. He was a prominent authority on seabirds, publishing numerous books and articles on gannets, cormorants and other species, teaching zoology at the University of Aberdeen, and conducting pioneering ornithological research in Jordan, Christmas Island and the Galápagos Islands. In his lifetime, Nelson was "acclaimed as the world's leading expert on the Northern Gannet". He also contributed to the creation of Christmas Island National Park, which helped to preserve the habitat of the endangered Abbott's Booby.