Rare Masked Booby Spotted for First Time in Hormozgan
WANA (Sep 07) – For the first time, a Masked Booby has been observed and recorded on the coast of Qeshm Island in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province.
The sighting occurred on September 3, 2025, at 17:20 local time in the coastal village of Gambaron, Qeshm. The bird was identified by an expert, Farnoush Farhadi, and its striking image was captured by photographer Nazanin Rahimi.
The word “Booby” comes from the Spanish bobo, meaning “fool” or “clown,” a reference to the bird’s comical walk and lack of fear of humans.
Boobies are large seabirds that usually breed on remote tropical islands and are rarely seen along mainland coasts. They are known for their unusually low fear of humans, making them approachable.
Juvenile Masked Boobies have brown faces, necks, and napes, with irregular white patches across their bodies. The species is normally found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and its presence in the Persian Gulf is considered extremely rare.
Rare Masked Booby Spotted for First Time in Hormozgan. Social media/ WANA News Agency
