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Large seabird of offshore tropical waters around the globe.
VIC: Vulnerable
Indigenous: Masked Gannet, Blue-Faced Booby, White Booby, Gahnet
At a glance
FamilyBoobies and Gannets
SizeLarge
RarityUncommon
HabitatCoastlines, harbours, offshore waters, estuaries, headlands, beaches, and large inland water when conditions suit.
Best timeMost reliable in New South Wales from October.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Alán Palacios
Range map
Range map
218visible hotspots
806visible records
3states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Adult is mostly white with a black trailing edge to the wings, black tail, and dark mask at base of stout yellow bill. Immature has brown head, neck, and upperparts, sometimes with messy white patches. Immature told from most other boobies by pale yellowish bill and mostly white underwings. Essentially identical to Nazca Booby until at least one year old, when Nazca starts developing orange or pinkish bill color.
Behavior
Nests on islands; very rarely seen from the mainland. Often found with feeding groups of other seabirds such as terns, other boobies, and shearwaters.
Gallery