Brown Booby
Sula leucogaster
Also known as: Booby
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
VertFishScav
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
1.3 kg
About This Species
Brown Boobies plunge-dive from height into open water to catch fish, often hunting in loose groups over shoals pushed up by predators below. Look for them along tropical and subtropical coastlines and offshore islands, resting on buoys, rocks or ship rigging between fishing bouts. They breed in dense colonies on remote islands, so a boat trip past a breeding cay during the nesting season is the most reliable way to see large numbers together.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep boats and drones well clear of nesting colonies, since disturbance can cause adults to abandon eggs or chicks to gulls and other predators.
- Many of the islands they nest on sit within marine protected areas or nature reserves with their own visitor rules, and these vary considerably by country, so check local regulations before approaching a colony.
- Away from breeding sites, resting birds on structures can usually be watched calmly from a normal viewing distance without approaching them directly.
LCAvesSuliformesSulidae
Seasonal Activity
297,111 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Suliformes
- Family
- Sulidae
Traits
- Diet
- VertFishScav
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 1.3 kg
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.