Skip to main content

Story: Gannets and boobies

Plunge diving

Image
Plunge diving

Gannets are renowned for their spectacular diving. They fly fairly steadily over the sea at heights between 1 and 20 metres, and plunge when they spot fish. Just before hitting the water they partially fold their wings back and make a near vertical entrance. This bird was photographed at Wellington Harbour.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1995/4215/14a

by John Nicholson

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Maggy Wassilieff, Gannets and boobies – Gannets: life history and feeding, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5835/plunge-diving (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Maggy Wassilieff, published 2 March 2009.