Abbott's booby

How it lives

Abbott's boobies nest high in tall rainforest trees on Christmas Island. They lay one egg, which is incubated for about 56 days. The chick takes about 170 days to fledge and then needs about another 200 days to become independent. The whole breeding cycle takes 15 to 18 months, so most pairs breed only once every two to three years. Young birds first breed at about 8 years, and the species can live up to about 40 years. Males have a pale grey bill and females a pink bill.

Where it goes

Christmas Island is the only place this seabird nests. It was once found across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, according to Parks Australia. The sources read here did not give detailed foraging routes, so they are left out.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Global: Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with a 2019 assessment by BirdLife International cited by Wikipedia. Estimates of the population differ by source. Parks Australia says the island supports about 3,000 breeding pairs, and Wikipedia reports a 2002 helicopter survey that counted 1,500 nest sites. One source gives about 9,000 individuals in 1991, declining. Phosphate mining destroyed about one third of nesting habitat between 1965 and 1987, and wind turbulence from clearings affects about 36 percent of the population. Yellow crazy ants and climate change are further risks. Wikipedia cites an estimate of a decline of more than 80 percent over the next three generations. The nesting areas are protected inside Christmas Island National Park, and the species is on CITES Appendix I.