CreatureData

Abbott's booby

Papasula abbotti (Ridgway, 1893)

ENEndangeredbirds

The abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti) is a species in the family Sulidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.47 kg to 1.59 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti)
Photo: Christina Lipka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the abbott's booby

Weight
1.47 kg – 1.59 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
57 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
0.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the abbott's booby live?

Not recorded

What is the abbott's booby?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti) is an endangered seabird of the sulid family, which includes gannets and boobies. It is a large booby and is placed within its own monotypic genus. It was first identified from a specimen collected by William Louis Abbott, who discovered it on Assumption Island in 1892.

Abbott's booby breeds only in a few spots on the Australian territory of Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, although it formerly had a much wider range. It has white plumage with black markings, and is adapted for long-distance flight. It forages around Christmas Island, often around nutrient-rich oceanic upwellings, although individuals can travel for thousands of kilometres. Pairs mate for life and raise one chick every two or three years, nesting near the top of emergent trees in the rainforest canopy.

The population is decreasing. Historically, much of its former habitat was logged to make way for phosphate mining. Some logging continues, and the effects of the former logging continue to adversely affect the current population. Another threat has been caused by the introduction of yellow crazy ants, which decrease habitat quality. Minimal habitat declines have a significant effect on the bird population. All nesting areas have been included in a national park.

From the Wikipedia article “Abbott's booby” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abbott%27s_booby&oldid=1382381282), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the abbott's booby endangered?

The abbott's booby is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.

How is the abbott's booby classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderSuliformes
  5. familySulidae
  6. genusPapasula
  7. SpeciesPapasula abbotti (Ridgway, 1893)

Synonyms Papasula abbotti abbotti, Sula abbotti

Other names and names in other languages (48)
  • أطيش أبوتArabic
  • اطيش ابوتEgyptian Arabic
  • Рибояд на АботBulgarian
  • Morskoul AbbottBreton
  • mascarell d'AbbottCatalan
  • terej AbbottůvCzech
  • terej černokřídlýCzech
  • bwbi AbbottWelsh
  • Juleø SuleDanish
  • Juleø-suleDanish
  • AbbotttölpelGerman
  • Abbott-TölpelGerman
  • GraufußtölpelGerman
  • PapasuloEsperanto
  • kristnaskinsula suloEsperanto
  • Piquero de AbbottSpanish
  • Alcatraz de AbbottSpanish
  • Bobo de AbbottSpanish
  • metssuulaEstonian
  • بوبی ابوتPersian
  • joulusaarensuulaFinnish
  • Fou d'AbbottFrench
  • Fou d’AbbottFrench
  • סולת אבוטHebrew
  • falakó szulaHungarian
  • Խոլահավ ԱբբոտիArmenian
  • Angsa-batu christmasIndonesian
  • Sula di AbbottItalian
  • モモグロカツオドリJapanese
  • Aboto padūkėlisLithuanian
  • ꯑꯦꯕꯕꯠꯀꯤ ꯕꯨꯕꯤManipuri
  • abbot-gentDutch
  • Abbotts GentDutch
  • christmassuleNorwegian
  • głuptak czarnoskrzydłyPolish
  • ایبٹ دی بوبیWestern Panjabi
  • atobá-de-abbottPortuguese
  • alcatraz-de-abbottPortuguese
  • alcatraz-do-índicoPortuguese
  • Олуша АбботтаRussian
  • Олуша ЭбботтаRussian
  • sula čiernokrídlaSlovak
  • Crnokrila blunaSerbian
  • julösulaSwedish
  • Abbott SümsüğüTurkish
  • сула чорнокрилаUkrainian
  • 粉嘴鰹鳥Chinese
  • 粉嘴鲣鸟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the abbott's booby

Other species in the same family Sulidae.

CompareAbbott's booby vs Northern gannetAbbott's booby vs Blue-footed boobyAbbott's booby vs Masked boobyAbbott's booby vs Brown booby

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the abbott's booby?

An adult abbott's booby weighs 1.47 kg – 1.59 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the abbott's booby endangered?

The abbott's booby is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the abbott's booby?

The abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti) belongs to the family Sulidae in the order Suliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/abbott-s-booby

MLA

“Abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/abbott-s-booby.

BibTeX
@misc{abbott_s_booby_2026,
  title = {Abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/abbott-s-booby},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}