Brown booby

Brown booby
Temporal range: Middle Quaternary to recent[1]
Male
Female
both S. l. plotus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Suliformes
Family: Sulidae
Genus: Sula
Species:
S. leucogaster
Binomial name
Sula leucogaster
(Boddaert, 1783)
World range,[3] with Brown booby subspecies in pink and purple:
  S. l. leucogaster
  S. l. plotus

The brown booby (Sula leucogaster) is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species.[3] It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brown booby commutes and forages at low height over inshore waters. Flocks plunge-dive to take small fish, especially when these are driven near the surface by their predators. They nest only on the ground, and roost on solid objects rather than the water surface.[3]

  1. ^ "Sula leucogaster Boddaert 1783 (brown booby)". PBDB.
  2. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Sula leucogaster". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22696698A132590197. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22696698A132590197.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Harrison, Peter (1985). Seabirds: An Identification Guide (revised ed.). Houghton Mifflin. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-395-60291-1.