Tropical bird likely blown off course by hurricane dies

EASTHAM, Mass. – 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 co-ordinator 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.