Brown Booby

Brown Booby, pair at nest

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A widespread seabird of tropical waters, the Brown Booby ranges as far north as the Gulf of California, and rarely to both coasts of the United States. Like other boobies, it feeds with spectacular plunges into the sea.

Description

• Large, dark waterbird.
• Long body, long neck, long tail.
• Narrow, pointed wings.
• Brown head, throat, chest, and upperparts.
• White belly, vent, and wing linings

• Size: 64-85 cm (25-33 in)
• Wingspan: 132-155 cm (52-61 in)
• Weight: 950-1800 g (33.54-63.54 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar. Female larger than male. Male's facial skin is usually blue, whereas female's is yellow.

Sound

At breeding colony, female issues a loud honk. Male makes a high-pitched whistling sound.

Conservation Status

No longer breeds on many tropical islands where predators have been introduced. Human population growth and development of islands have caused severe population declines over the past century in the Caribbean.

Other Names

Fou brun (French)
Boba prieta, Bubi chaleco (Spanish)
White-bellied Booby (English)

Cool Facts

• The Brown Booby is the only ground-nesting booby that regularly builds a substantial nest.
• Like all boobies and pelicans, the Brown Booby's feet are "totipalmate," having webbing connecting all four toes.

• Brown Booby nests sometimes contain the bodies of dead Sooty Tern chicks.

• Male and female Brown Boobies generally look alike in plumage color, except in populations found along the Pacific Coast of Mexico and Central and South America. There the females look like those in other populations, but the males have light gray to white heads.

Sources used to construct this page:

Schreiber, E. A., and R. L. Norton. 2002. Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster). In The Birds of North America, No. 649 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.