EASTHAM, Mass. (AP) — A tropical bird believed to be the first of its type seen in Massachusetts has died after it was likely blown off course by Hurricane Jose.
Wild Care Cape Cod, a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Eastham, said Monday that the masked booby died overnight. It was found last week at a Cape Cod beach.
They say the bird’s condition was “grim” from the beginning and it became worse on Sunday.
A necropsy will be performed by Tufts University. Then the bird will be taken to the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology to be exhibited.
Massachusetts Audubon science coordinator Mark Faherty says a masked booby had never before been reported on the state’s soil.
The seabirds are more common in the Gulf of Mexico.
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