That which prevents disagreeable flies from feeding on your repast, was once the proud tail of a splendid bird.

A Marcus Valerius Martial Quotation

Nazca Booby: Have you seen this Booby lately?

Nazca Booby

The Nazca Booby, Sula granti, is a booby which is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, namely on the Galápagos Islands where it can be seen by eco-tourists, and on Clipperton Island. The Revillagigedo Islands off Baja California which possibly constitute its northeasternmost limit of its breeding range

Nazca boobies are known for practicing obligate siblicide (Anderson, 1990). They lay two eggs, several days apart. If both eggs hatch, the elder chick will push its sibling out of the nest area, leaving it to die of thirst or cold. The parent booby will not intervene and the younger chick will inevitably die.

Identification Tips:
• Length: 27? inches Wingspan: 68? inches
• Sexes similar
• Pelagic bird only coming ashore to breed
• Large bird that dives for fish from air
• Takes 2 to 3 years to reach adult plumage
• Recently separated from Masked Booby
• May be rare stray to California

Adult
• White head, body and wing coverts
• Dark primaries and secondaries
• Black tail often with central white feathers
• Dark patches on back
• Dark mask
• Large, orange, pointed bill
• Olive to gray legs and feet

Immature
• Dark head and upperparts usually not separated by light collar
• Head often brown while back is often gray
• Underparts white with U-shaped line between throat and breast

Similar species:

Adult Masked Booby has a yellow, not orange, bill. Adult Nazca Booby can be separated from other black and white boobies by the entirely dark secondaries. Northern Gannets tend to lack the white collar but at a distance may be inseparable.

It is believed that two eggs are laid so that one remains an insurance in case the other gets destroyed or eaten, or the chick dies soon after hatching.