Abbott's Booby

Papasula abbotti (Ridgway, 1893)

1.6 kgWeight

Abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti) is an endangered seabird of the sulid family, which includes gannets and boobies.

Busiest months: December · Most records: Christmas Island, Northern Mariana Islands

Endangered

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: December · Most records: Christmas Island, Northern Mariana Islands

Abbott's Booby has been recorded at 11 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 2 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Christmas Island National ParkChristmas Island84 records
Margaret Knoll LookoutChristmas Island54 records
The DalesChristmas Island22 records

More places

Territory Day Park and LookoutChristmas Island14 records
SettlementChristmas Island10 records
Seabird Sanctuary, RotaNorthern Mariana Islands8 records
VQ3 LodgeChristmas Island7 records
Christmas Island Golf CourseChristmas Island7 records
Flying Fish CoveChristmas Island5 records
East of Rocky PointChristmas Island2 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Christmas Island Northern Mariana Islands

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

Abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti) is an endangered seabird of the sulid family, which includes gannets and boobies. It is a large booby and is placed within its own monotypic genus. It was first identified from a specimen collected by William Louis Abbott, who discovered it on Assumption Island in 1892.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Abbott's Booby?

The Abbott's Booby weighs around 1.6 kg.

Where does the Abbott's Booby live?

Its breeding range: Indian Ocean: Christmas Island (south of western Java); formerly Assumption (Aldabra group, southwestern Seychelles), Mauritius and Rodrigues (central, eastern Mascarenes, southwestern Indian Ocean); subfossil remains from Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Marquesas (northeastern Polynesia). It is most often recorded in Christmas Island and Northern Mariana Islands.

When is the best time to see the Abbott's Booby?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in December (Southern Hemisphere).

Is the Abbott's Booby endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Abbott's Booby as Endangered.

What does the Abbott's Booby eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Abbott's Booby in?

It belongs to the family Gannets, Boobies (Sulidae), order Suliformes.

At a glance

Weight: 1.6 kg
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Feeds in the air
Migration: Partial migrant
Conservation: Endangered

More measurements

Wing: 442 mm
Tail: 205 mm
Bill: 119 mm
Tarsus: 46 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Indian Ocean: Christmas Island (south of western Java); formerly Assumption (Aldabra group, southwestern Seychelles), Mauritius and Rodrigues (central, eastern Mascarenes, southwestern Indian Ocean); subfossil remains from Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Marquesas (northeastern Polynesia)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2