BirdUp · Species
Masked Booby
Sula dactylatraLesson, RP, 1831
Updated
At a glance
The Masked Booby is a very large bird, about 75–85 cm long, native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.
- Size
- 75–85 cm
- Origin
- Native
- Best seen
- Year-round
- Commonness
- Very common
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
What does a Masked Booby look like?
The Masked Booby is a very large bird, about 75–85 cm long and weighing 1500–2700 g.
The masked booby, also called the masked gannet or the blue-faced booby, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. First described by the French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson in 1831, the masked booby is one of six species of booby in the genus Sula. It has a typical sulid body shape, with a long pointed yellowish bill, long neck, aerodynamic body, long slender wings and pointed tail. The adult is bright white with black wings, a black tail and a dark face mask; at 75–85 cm (30–33 in) long, it is the largest species of booby. The sexes have similar plumage. This species ranges across tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic and eastern Pacific. In the latter, it is replaced by the Nazca booby, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of masked booby.
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
03 · When
When to look
When can you see a Masked Booby?
The Masked Booby is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
What does a Masked Booby eat?
The Masked Booby feeds on fish/invertebrates, usually foraging alone.
06 · Gallery
Plumage up close
5 photos
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