Masked Booby off San Diego

On pelagic trips birds can approach fast and be gone in a short period of time. It is easy to miss seeing smaller birds. Sometimes larger birds can approach unseen and only be glimpsed as they streak past the boat.

Fortunately, this Masked Booby was spotted and called out to passengers with enough time for all to attain decent looks. Nevertheless, all my photos occurred during the same one-minute period according to the clock in my camera. Here it comes... there it goes!

This near-adult seems to have greenish-yellow bill of the Masked Booby, not the pinkish-yellow of Nazca Booby. Nevertheless, the identification is not always so straight-forward--especially on the more-frequently encountered younger birds, both of which species have more of a pale gray bill.

Masked Booby. Off San Diego, California. August 19, 2018.