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Masked Booby

Sula dactylatra

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View on eBirdWikipedia

About the Masked Booby

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.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name
Sula dactylatra
Family
Boobies and Gannets
Order
Suliformes

Similar species

Other members of the boobies and gannets family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

  • Blue-footed Booby Sula nebouxii
  • Brown Booby Sula leucogaster
  • Cocos Booby Sula brewsteri
  • Nazca Booby Sula granti
  • Northern Gannet Morus bassanus
  • Red-footed Booby Sula sula

Know when the Masked Booby turns up near you

Add it to your watchlist and draw an alert zone around the places you actually bird. Birdr checks eBird reports and tells you when one is seen inside it.

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Gear for spotting Masked Booby

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