Cape Gannet
Morus capensis (Lichtenstein, MHK, 1823)
Photo © By Avitopia www.avitopia.net - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65556744
STATUS
Afrotropical region. Monotypic.
OVERVIEW
Species not admitted nationally (BOU 1971)
NOT PROVEN
0). 1831 Lothian Bass Rock, obtained, May.
(MacGillivray, 1852).
[BOURC (1980), Ibis 122: 567; BOURC (2013), Ibis 155: 206].
History MacGillivray (1852 (5): 419-420) says: 'I have still to say a few words respecting a Black-tailed Gannet. Whether Mr. Gould's Sula melanura be a good species, or whether the specimen to which I allude belong to it, I cannot presume to determine from few facts and small data. The bird in question was caught on the Bass in May 1831, and sent to me for description by Mr. Stables. Apparently adult, and having the general appearance of the Common Gannet. Primaries 10, secondaries 26, tail-feathers 12. The principal differences are the following: - The bill is shorter, and at the base thicker. The space from the eye to the base of the bill is shorter. The black line of bare skin is extended down the neck to more than half its length, whereas in the Common Gannet it is only about 2 inches long. The secondary quills are dark purplish-brown; white in the Common, but still dark brown in its second year. The tail is dark brown; white in the Common, but still dark brown in its second year. Length 36 inches; extent of wings 64; bill along the ridge 3.75; along the edge 5.5; tarsus 2.75; middle toe 4.5.'
BOURC (1980) in The Ibis, Vol. CXXII. p. 567, say: 'The bird was sent to him by one William Stables of Nairn, of whom little is known except that he was a landed proprietor and had shipping interests at Leith. The last point suggests the possibility that the bird may have been imported by a seaman. The contemporary account is too incomplete for this to stand as the first and only European record.'
BOURC (2013) in The Ibis, Vol. CLV. p. 206, says: 'After it was found out that MacGillivray probably examined it while it was still fresh, another review was undertaken. However, although identification was accepted it was still rejected. Although it is a potential vagrant there are no accepted records for the Western Palearctic. The exact circumstances of the bird’s shooting or capture are not described.'
