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ID tip
The most immediately obvious difference from the related brown booby is the male's whitish face, varying in size by subspecies. Females of all subspecies of Cocos booby also possess a white forehead. Males of the subspecies S. b. nesiotes have the most white, with a fully white head and neck. Males of the nominate subspecies have a white face, and a pale brown neck, while males of the subspecies S. b. etesiaca only have white on their foreheads. Males also have a grey bill, rather than the yellow bill of male brown booby, and females have a pinker bill than female brown booby.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Cocos Booby
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is December, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Cocos Booby
The map shades 130 countries with regular records, and 29 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Canada, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, South Korea, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Kuwait, Morocco, Tuvalu, Uruguay, AQ, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Nauru, Russia, Brunei, Switzerland, Germany, Iceland, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, St. Pierre & Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Togo, Türkiye.
About the Cocos Booby
The Cocos booby, formerly known as Brewster's booby, is a species of booby in the family Sulidae. It was formerly considered a subspecies of brown booby, but it was split by the American Ornithological Society in 2024 due to morphological and behavioural differences. It is native to the east and central Pacific Ocean.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Nazca BoobySula grantiThe species has a yellow iris, orange and pinkish beak, black facial skin in the form of a mask, and grey feet.
Masked BoobySula dactylatraThe largest species of booby, the masked booby ranges from 75 to 85 cm (30 to 33 in) long, with a 160–170 cm (63–67 in) wingspan and 1.2–2.2 kg (2.6–4.9 lb) weight.
Red-footed BoobySula sulaThe red-footed booby is the smallest member of the booby and gannet family at about 70 cm (28 in) in length and with a wingspan of up to 152 cm (60 in).
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