Scientific name:
Morus bassanus

Natural spread:
tropical waters

the bass-dolt is with a wing-length of about. 50 cm and a weight up to 3,5 kg approximately goose-big. Both sexes are colored snow-white. Only the Handschwingen take off black, head and neck against it cream-yellow. The long, straight and pointed beak is light-blue, the bare skin-parts of the beak-root and around the eye black, as the bird deceives glasses. Dolts set aside its dun youth-dress only gradually in the course of 4 years. Only with 5 years, they become sexually mature, but already unausgefärbte meets birds to solid pairs.

Reproduction Steep rock-coasts and foothills are the bass-dolt's brood-area in the North-Atlantic and in the North sea. The single important North Sea*-colony on the bass Rock in Scotland gave its name to the bass-dolt.

From end March to end of May, the animals meet up to 17 000 pairs (appearance Hebriden) in colonies. Both parents set the nest, in which the female puts only an egg of approximately 100 g, on rocky underground from seaweed or other plant-sharing. In the colonies, the nests lie very densely together, often in beak-reach. A nest constantly is guarded by one of the alto-birds and is defended. Both spouses procure the brood permanent usually 44 days and later feed the chick with high-choked, before-digested food, with whole fishings. After approximately 45 days, the still unairworthy boys leave the nest and jump from the cliffs in the sea. If they survived this, they swim on the open sea out and are largely independent. Feedings rarely were observed on open sea. 2-3 weeks later, the boys are airworthy. However, they must learn starting and landing with difficulty on the cliffs first. Also with it, much boy perishes.

Way of life Already from big distance, bass-dolts are to be decided well if they fall steeply headlong into the water from often 40 m of height with its pointed tail and half-closed wings. On this occasion, they sometimes rotate around its own axis. The diving-duration usually doesn't amount longer than 10 seconds with an average depth of 15 m. Often, hundred of dolts, who crash like white lines, form a fascinating drama. With its streamlined body and the big feet equipped with swimming-skins, the bass-dolt is a good diver and swimmers. it catches the food existing almost exclusively from fishings by along-diving at the fish from below.

Hikes Bass-dolts undertake wide hikes as good planes and sailors. Particularly the squabs move into tropical waters, partially as far as to the Kapverdischen islands, far southwards. The alto-birds however spend the winter predominantly in the southern areas of its summery spread-area within the northern continental shelf-zones.