The masked booby (Sula dactylatra), 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 (Sula granti), which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of masked booby.
Nesting takes place in colonies, generally on islands and atolls far from the mainland and close to deep water required for foraging. Territorial when breeding, the masked booby performs agonistic displays to defend its nest. Potential and mated pairs engage in courtship and greeting displays. The female lays two chalky white eggs in a shallow depression on flat ground away from vegetation. The chicks are born featherless, but are soon covered in white down. The second chick born generally does not survive and is killed by its elder sibling. These birds are spectacular plunge divers, plunging into the ocean at high speed in search of prey—mainly flying fish. The species faces few threats; although its population is declining, it is considered to be a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
^BirdLife International (2018). "Sula dactylatra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22736173A132666363. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22736173A132666363.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
The maskedbooby (Sula dactylatra), also called the masked gannet or the blue-faced booby, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae....
A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the family Sulidae. Boobies are closely related to the gannets (Morus), which were formerly included in...
Walter Rothschild in 1902, it was long considered a subspecies of the maskedbooby until recognised as distinct genetically and behaviorally in 2002. It...
red-footed booby, the brown booby, the maskedbooby, and the Nazca booby. There are no subspecies of Peruvian booby, but some members of the species have...
blue-footed booby parents committed siblicide less often than they would normally. Similarly, the blue-footed booby chicks placed with the maskedbooby parents...
The brown booby (Sula leucogaster) is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has...
The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulids, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish...
food obtained by hunting. A study of great frigatebirds stealing from maskedboobies estimated that the frigatebirds could at most obtain 40% of the food...
seabirds comprising the genus Morus in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads, black-tipped wings...
important nesting ground for red-footed booby, black noddy, white tern, great frigatebird, and maskedbooby, and home to the endemic northern Marquesan...
food obtained by hunting. A study of great frigatebirds stealing from maskedboobies estimated that the frigatebirds could at most obtain 40% of the food...
red-footed booby Fish and Wildlife sign Hermit crabs taking shade in day beacon Settlement remains, radio mast in background Maskedbooby on gravestone...
also known as the Australian gannet or tākapu, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. Adults are mostly white, with black flight feathers...
English: They saw a bird that is called a frigatebird, which makes the boobies throw up what they eat in order to eat it herself, and she does not sustain...
000 brown boobies and 112,000 maskedboobies, making Clipperton home to the world's second-largest brown booby colony, and its largest maskedbooby colony...
ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 24994028. "Annotated List of the Seabirds of the World - Boobies, Cormorants, Frigatebirds and Tropicbirds". www.oceanwanderers.com. Retrieved...
gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. Maskedbooby, Sula dactylatra Nazca booby, Sula granti...
comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. Maskedbooby, Sula dactylatra Order: Suliformes Family:...
Individuals on the west coast of Africa could be confused with vagrant maskedboobies, though the latter is smaller overall, lacks the buff tinge to the head...
park: sooty tern, brown noddy, brown pelican, magnificent frigatebird, maskedbooby, roseate tern, bridled tern and mourning dove. The park features the...
Global Information
