Male: General plumage off-white. Black eye-patch. Wings, black. Tail, black. Flank, black mark. Bill, pale grey, tipped black. Feet, blue. Legs, blue. Webbing, tipped black.
Female: General plumage off-white. Black eye-patch. Wings, black. Tail, black. Flank, black mark. Bill, pink, tipped black. Feet, blue. Legs, blue. Webbing, tipped black.
Immatures: General plumage off-white. Black eye-patch, bluer around eye. Wings, black. Tail, black. Flank, black mark. Bill, pale grey, tipped black. Feet, blue. Legs, blue. Webbing, tipped black. In flight, underwings nearly all white except for black margin at tips.
Other Scientific Names
Sula abbotti [Collar and Andrew (1988)]
Christmas Island (B), Eastern Indian Ocean (B) (NB), Indonesia (NB), Mauritius (E) (B), Seychelles (E) (B).
Vagrant to Australia.
Population
Estimated population is 6,000 (2010) and decreasing.
Status EN
Habitat destruction through clearing and storms during the breeding season are the main threats.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Food
Squid, crustaceans, fish.
Voice
Apparently silent at sea. Noisy at breeding sites, adults uttering deep, loud, resonant clicks.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9