The Masked Booby is the largest booby in the world, an all-white seabird with black wings, a yellow bill, and a black facial mask. It occasionally appears in the Gulf of Mexico and off both coasts. Like all boobies, it plunge-dives from height to catch fish. Its 'booby' name comes from the Spanish 'bobo' meaning fool, for its habit of landing on ships.
Best time to see a Masked Booby
The best time to see a Masked Booby is January–July, when about 61% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 648 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
Not certain it is a Masked Booby? What bird is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.
Recent Masked Booby sightings near you
Live, research-grade observations from iNaturalist. Allow location to center the map on you.
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