This record was submitted by RICHARD WHITE on 13 Aug 2024. All user submissions will be reviewed by the Records Committee. Entries listed here may be edited for brevity and clarity while the original record is left unchanged.
This record was submitted to the Records Committee for review.
The Records Committee began deliberating on this record.
The Records Committee completed its review and finalised its verdict.
| Species | Red-footed Booby Sula sula |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 10848 |
| Date | 13 Aug 2024 |
| Location | Bukit Timah NR |
| Count | 1 individual |
| Age | Adult white morph |
| Date added | 13 Aug 2024 |
| Vote results | For: 5, Abstain (sole observer): 1 Wild: 5 |
|---|---|
| Verdict | Accepted / Wild (Verifiable) |
| Identification |
|---|
| I had low expectations while birding at Bukit Timah summit on what can best be described as a quiet afternoon. The usual swiftlets were buzzing around and a Brahminy kite drifted over. Then I picked up a white bird coming in fast from the south, wings beating fast and flying directly in a non-raptor way. Not big enough for an eagle but too big for anything else 'normal'. As soon as I got binoculars onto the bird it was obviously a booby; apparently an adult Red-footed. WTF! I watched the bird for about ten seconds until it was out of sight to the north. I didn't reach for the camera, there was no point. I shared the news as quickly as I was able but even this felt futile. It was gone. And all the while I was getting flashbacks to the record from Henderson Waves. As unlikely as it may seem, lightning does sometimes strike twice. Mid-sized, predominantly white, bird. Not as big as a White-bellied sea eagle, but bigger than a Pied imperial pigeon. A very pointy bird - long thin wings, pointed tail and head/bill. Wing tips/primaries and secondaries were black but otherwise a white bird, including the tail which would be black if it were a Masked booby or a southern hemisphere gannet species. I can't say that I saw the feet, but the combination of white body and tail rules out Masked booby which is the most likely alternative. |
| Habitat/behaviour |
|---|
| Flying fast and direct over the summit clearing, not very high but not low either. |
| Viewing conditions |
|---|
| Flat afternoon light with cloud, but OK. |
| Observer's experience |
|---|
| Many thousands seen - most recently in July 2024. |
| Observer's experience w/similar species |
|---|
| All the boobies and gannets. Enough to know this was not a Masked booby and for sure not a gannet. |
Bird Society of Singapore. (2024). Record 10848: Red-footed Booby Sula sula. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://records.singaporebirds.com/record/10848/.