Masked Booby
Sula dactylatra
Spanish: Bobo enmascarado
The masked booby, 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. In the latter, it is replaced by the Nazca booby, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of masked booby. Most often recorded in Dec, Apr, Feb, Nov.
- 2025-04-25 — observation by katrin_schmidt
- 2025-02-17 — observation by johnhorsfall
- 2024-12-05 — observation by tilmaturasbirding
- 2022-11-26 — observation by valog
- 2019-12-14 — observation by santiagob1986
- 2019-12-14 — observation by santiagob1986
Interactive card with more photos, sounds and similar species Birds guide iNaturalist Wikipedia
Cite as: “Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra) at La Saladita”, La Saladita Field Guide, lasaladita.com/species/sula-dactylatra/, updated 2026-09-26. Observation counts and months come from iNaturalist research-grade records within about 50 km of 17.8375°N, 101.7606°W (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones); summary text from Wikipedia where present.