• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	B2ab(ii,iii)	A2bcde; B2ab(ii,iii); D2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2019	Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii)
2018	Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii)
2016	Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii)
2012	Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii,v)
2010	Endangered	B2a+b(ii,iii,v)
2008	Endangered	B2a+b(iii)
2006	Endangered
2005	Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Critically Endangered
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	688,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	92 km2	good
Number of locations	1	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	6000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	1991
Population trend	stable	medium	estimated	1920-2010
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	14.1 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Following an estimate of 2,500 active pairs in 1991, the total number of mature individuals has been put at c.6,000, equating to c.9,000 individuals in total. It should be noted that only a proportion breed in a given year owing to a 15-18 month breeding cycle and the possibility that some unsuccessful pairs take 'rest years' rather than breed in successive years. Despite a helicopter survey in 2002, the 1991 survey is considered the most accurate and comprehensive.

Trend justification: The species's population is estimated to have declined by 30-49% over the last 90 years based on its disappearance from much of its former breeding range in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. However, it seems that the breeding population was more or less stable between 1991 and 2002 (Commonwealth of Australia 2004, P. Green per D. James and M. Jeffery in litt. 2005) and so the current trend is now tentatively assessed as stable.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Australia	extant	vagrant			yes
Christmas Island (to Australia)	extant	native		yes
Indonesia	extant	native			yes
Mauritius	extinct	native		yes
Seychelles	extinct	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Christmas Island (to Australia)	Christmas Island

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	resident
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	resident
Altitude	160 - 260 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Very Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Anoplolepis gracilipes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Residential & commercial development	Commercial & industrial areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Very Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Abbott's Booby Papasula abbotti. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/abbotts-booby-papasula-abbotti on 24/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 24/11/2024.