About the Masked Booby
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…
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The 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. It has a typical sulid body shape, with a long pointed bill, long neck, aerodynamic body, long slender wings and pointed tail. The adult is bright white with dark wings and a dark tail. The sexes have similar plumage with no seasonal variation, but females are on average slightly heavier and larger than males. The bare skin around the face, throat and lores is described either as black or blue-black.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Masked Booby lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Eritrea, Hong Kong SAR China, France, Niue, Somalia, Canada, Kuwait, Thailand, Palau.
When to see the Masked Booby
Peak activity in April · a resident species across most of its range
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.
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).
Blue-footed BoobySula nebouxiiThe blue-footed booby is on average 81 cm (32 in) long and weighs 1.5 kg (3+1⁄4 lb), with the female being slightly larger than the male.
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