Masked Booby Facts | ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO

MASKED BOOBY: A SPECTACULAR NEW BIRD SPECIES FOR ABACO

Hot avian news has arrived today from Woody Bracey: the 4th brand new species recorded for Abaco within the last 12 months has just been sighted in Abaco waters, north of Great Guana Cay. It was a single Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra), a large seabird also known as a Masked Gannet (and it certainly looks quite gannet-like). [NB the photos in this post are obviously not of the new bird, but are illustrative of the species]

THE LOGGED SIGHTING DETAILS

Date: Wed Jan 21, 2015 10:00 AM

Location: Deep Sea 2-15 miles off Great Guana Cay, Central Abaco, Hope Town and Green Turtle Cay, BS

Protocols: traveling – party size 2 – duration 6 hours – distance 30.0 miles

Observers: Karl Kleim and Kim Kuhnle; Reporter via Ebird, Elwood Bracey

Description: Single Masked Booby “Large white bird sitting on the sea with a yellow-greenish bill and no yellow on the head, then flew a few 100 yards showing the black trailing edge to the wings and wingtips and tail. Adult female.”

EIGHT ESSENTIAL MASKED BOOBY FACTS

First described by A French naturalist in 1831
One of six species of booby in the ‘Booby’ genus Sula
The largest Booby species
The only other Booby species recorded for Abaco is the Brown Booby
The closest breeding populations to Abaco are off Mexico and southern Caribbean
Silent at sea, whistling greeting call in nesting colonies plus a repertoire of ‘hissing and quacking’
Spectacular diving abilities
2 eggs are laid: very often the first chick to hatch kills the second (“Siblicide”)