One of the 7 boobies on WAnimals
Birds · Suliformes · Sulidae
Masked Booby
Sula dactylatra
Least Concern
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The masked booby is the largest of the boobies, white with black flight feathers and tail and a dark facial mask around the yellow bill. It breeds on tropical oceanic islands worldwide and fishes by plunging from a great height. Like the Nazca booby, from which it was split as a separate species, it lays two eggs and always loses one to obligate siblicide by the elder chick.
Weight
1.2 kg – 2.2 kg
Size
74 cm – 91 cm
Life expectancy
25 years
