Brown Booby

Sula leucogaster (Boddaert, 1783)

64–74 cmLength130–150 cmWingspan1.3 kgWeight

This large seabird has a sharp boundary between its dark brown plumage and white belly, and plunges diagonally from the air into the water to catch fish.

Busiest months: October–January and March · Most records: Trinidad & Tobago, United States, Israel

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Head, breast and back dark brown
Belly white, sharply demarcated from the dark brown
Facial bare skin yellow in female, blue in male
Bill yellow, tail long, narrow and wedge-shaped

Male, female and young

Female larger, with yellow facial bare skin; male has blue bare skin. Juvenile paler, with a poorly defined boundary between breast and belly and a grayish bill.

Voice

Usually silent at sea; in the breeding season gives croaks, growls and nasal barks.

Where and when it's recorded

Brown Booby has been recorded at 580 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 94 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Little Tobago IslandTrinidad & Tobago1,114 records
Eilat north beachIsrael986 records
Baytown Nature CenterUnited States743 records

More places

Viejo San JuanPuerto Rico565 records
Yeliu IBATaiwan (China)401 records
Midway Atoll NWR – Eastern IslandU.S. Outlying Islands356 records
North Curve - TintamarreSt. Martin343 records
Rocher CréoleSt. Martin280 records
Midway Atoll NWR – Sand IslandU.S. Outlying Islands263 records
Klein CuraçaoCuraçao253 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Trinidad & Tobago United States Israel U.S. Virgin Islands U.S. Outlying Islands Puerto Rico St. Martin Caribbean Netherlands

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The brown booby (Sula leucogaster) is a large seabird in the booby and gannet family Sulidae, of which it is one of the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. Flocks plunge-dive to take small fish, especially when these are driven near the surface by their predators.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Brown Booby?

The Brown Booby is about 64–74 cm long, with a wingspan of 130–150 cm and weighs around 1.3 kg.

Where does the Brown Booby live?

Its breeding range: Tropical Oceans: widespread tropical and subtropical ocean islands. It is most often recorded in Trinidad & Tobago, United States and Israel.

When is the best time to see the Brown Booby?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, March, October, November and December (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Brown Booby endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Brown Booby as Least Concern.

What does the Brown Booby eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Brown Booby in?

It belongs to the family Gannets, Boobies (Sulidae), order Suliformes.

At a glance

Length: 64–74 cm
Wingspan: 130–150 cm
Weight: 1.3 kg
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Feeds in the air
Migration: Partial migrant
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 389 mm
Tail: 204 mm
Bill: 101 mm
Tarsus: 36 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Tropical Oceans: widespread tropical and subtropical ocean islands

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1

Sula leucogaster plotus Red Sea through Indian Ocean to w, c Pacific Ocean: Red Sea, islands off Somalia and Socotra (nw Indian Ocean); Cosmoledo (e Aldabra group, sw Seychelles), islands off nw Madagascar and Chagos Arch. (w, nc Indian Ocean); Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas is. (ec Indian Ocean), islands off nw to ne Australia, Tench (St. Matthias group, nc Bismarck Arch.), other remote islands in Melanesia including off New Caledonia; many islands of s Japan including Kyushu; Taiwan (China); offshore islands of n, sw, sc Philippines; Con Dao (se of Vietnam), Perak I. (w of Malay Pen.), islands in Flores and Banda seas (sc, se Indonesian Arch.), from Marianas and Palau (nw, sw Micronesia) through Northwestern and w main Hawaiian Is. and Gambier Is. (e Tuamotu Arch.; e Polynesia)