Masked booby or Nazca booby?
The beautiful marine bird seen in the today's picture is always one of the favorites of our visitors because of its pure, unsurpassed white plumage. Bryan Nelson, a recognized marine bird authority, described this bird as "the whitest bird imaginable."
Masked boobies breed throughout the world's tropical oceans and are locally abundant near hundreds of oceanic islands including the Pacific, the Caribbean, Australia and Indonesia. Until recently the masked boobies living in the Galapagos Islands were treated just as a subspecies or a race of the Masked boobies found throughout the world. Up to seven subspecies are recognized, depending on the booby authority. Most recent treatments have consolidated variation into four races. Designations are based mainly on body part coloration, which varies regionally. This particular subspecies "granti," previously recognized as a masked booby in Galapagos (Sula dactylatra granti), has a rosy pink bill and olive, khaki or purple coloration in legs and feet. Pitman & Jell, in 1998, proposed a split or change in the taxonomy of these birds. The main reason these authors argued is quite interesting. After carefully observing many pictures of masked boobies in Galapagos, they noticed that the bill of these individuals show an unusual orange color, not found outside Galapagos, at the base of the bill and in the bird's irises. The latter traits are difficult to identify in the field anyway, but mark a real difference that has been accepted by specialists.
The new common name "Nazca", that replaces our traditional and beloved "masked", has been chosen due to the fact that these boobies spend most of their life above the tectonic Nazca plate, where the Galapagos Islands are located. The new species name "granti," used previously as a subspecies denomination, is an honor to Peter and Rosemary Grant. The Grants are the best specialists ever in finches; their work and contributions to science are immense. Consequently, the new species name is more than justified.
From here on we have to call them Nazca boobies (Sula granti) instead of masked. Nevertheless, something that will never change is the fascination that the bird's exquisite, elegant and brilliant pure white body plumage provokes, which contrasts with its almost black wing markings and the characteristic black mask that surround its intense and colorful eyes.
