Information about Abbott's Booby

Abbott’s Booby
Conservation status
Endangered
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Sulidae Genus: Papasula Olson & Warheit, 1988 Species: P. abbotti
Binomial name
Papasula abbotti Ridgway, 1893

The Abbott’s Booby (Papasula abbotti) is a large endangered seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Found normally only on and around Christmas Island (an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean), it is the sole member of the genus Papasula.

Description

The Abbott’s Booby has a length of about 79 cm and a weight of about 1460 g. Its black and white plumage is distinct from that of other sulids in the region. Parent birds may only be able to breed from about eight years old, with successful breeding no more frequently than once every two years, and a potential lifespan of 40 years.

Distribution

It now breeds only on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, although formerly it bred on other Indian Ocean islands. At sea it is mainly seen in the waters around Christmas Island. There is fossil evidence of its presence in the South Pacific. In April 2007 an individual of this species was photographed at a booby colony on Rota in the Pacific Ocean.

Ecology

It nests in emergent trees in rainforest, laying a single egg, mainly in June or July. Growth of the chick is slow, with most chicks making their first flight in December or January, and remaining dependent on the parent birds for food for about the next 230 days. Adult birds feed on fish and squid and feed the chicks by regurgitation.

Conservation status

The Abbott’s Booby is considered to be an Endangered species. The population is estimated to be about 3000 birds and decreasing. On Christmas Island, threats include cyclones, degradation of breeding habitat and Yellow Crazy Ants. Offshore potential threats are overfishing and marine pollution.

Much of its breeding habitat was destroyed by phosphate mining in the 1960s and 1970s.^[1]

References

• BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Papasula abbotti. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 17/10/2006
• Marchant, S.; & Higgins, P.J. (Eds). (1990). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 1: Ratites to Ducks. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-553068-3
• Nelson, J. Bryan. (1978). The Sulidae. Gannets and Boobies. Oxford University Press: Oxford. ISBN 0-19-714104-8
• Garnett, S. (1993) Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia. RAOU. National Library, Canberra. ISSN 0812-8014