Masked Booby

Masked Booby
This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Sula dactylatra

Malay Name: Angsa-Laut Paruh Kuning

Chinese Name: 蓝脸鲣鸟

Range: A pelagic species, breeding and wintering in tropical waters from 30 degrees north of the equator to 30 degrees south of the equator.

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: dactylatra, melanops, tasmani, personata.

Local Subspecies: personata

Size: 74-86cm

Identification: All white Booby with yellow bill (dull yellow in females and immature birds) with black primaries and secondaries. Face blue-black. Immatures with brown upperparts and underwings, and a white collar. From Red-footed Booby of all ages by greyish-yellow feet instead of red. From immature Brown Booby by white collar.

Similar looking species: Red-footed Booby, Brown Booby

Habitat: Open seas and rarely coastal waters.

Behaviour/Ecology: Strong flyer that prefers to hunt in areas of deep sea; generally not seen from the coast except when breeding.

Local Status: Very rare visitor

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2018)

Featured articles:

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Masked Booby from Texas, United States of America. Photo: Keita Sin
External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Masked Booby)

References:

BirdLife International. (2018). Sula dactylatra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22736173A132666363.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Eaton, J. A., van Balen, S., Brickle, N. W., & Rheindt, F. E. (2021). Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea (Second Edition). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Masked Booby. Retrieved on December 27, 2024 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/masked-booby.

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