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Brown Booby

Sula leucogasterOrder: PELECANIFORMES Family: Booby and Gannets (Sulidae)
Codes: Common Name: BRBO Scientific Name: SULLEU ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174704
Brown Booby Breeding Male Head Illustration

Head

Topo Map: Gull-like Head
  • Bill Shape: Dagger
  • Eye Color: Medium gray to pale gray-blue.
  • Head Pattern: Plain
  • Crown Color: Dark Brown
  • Forehead Color: Dark Brown
  • Nape Color: Dark Brown
  • Throat Color: Dark Brown
  • Cere color: No Data
Splitbar

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Brown Booby Breeding Male Body Illustration

Body

Topo Map: Gull-like Body
  • Length Range: 66-74 cm (26-29 in)
  • Weight: 1088 g (38.4 oz)
  • Size: Size 4. Large (16 - 32 in)
  • Color: Blue, White, Brown, Yellow
  • Underparts: White
  • Upperparts: Dark Brown
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Brown Booby Breeding Male Flight Illustration

Flight

Topo Map: Gull-like Flight
  • Flight Pattern: Strong, moderately rapid wing beats interrupted by sailing glide.
  • Wingspan Range: 132-150 cm (52-59 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings, Long-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Fan-shaped Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Dark Brown
  • Under Tail: Dark Brown
  • Leg Color: Yellow
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Family Booby and Gannets (Sulidae)_blue
Species Sula leucogaster
Length26 - 29 Inches
Wingspan55.5 Inches

Brown Booby

Brown Booby: Large, gull-like seabird, mostly dark brown with white underwing coverts, belly, and vent. Blue-gray bill. Yellow legs and feet. Plunge dives from 30-50 feet. Feeds on parrot fish, flatfish, mullets, halfbeaks and other fish. Alternates strong rapid wing beats with glides.

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Brown Booby: Eats parrotfish, mullets, flatfish, halfbeaks, flying fish, and other fish; forages by plunge diving or skimming the surface to catch fish that leap clear of the surf.

● Breeding & nesting: Brown Booby: One to three white to pale blue-green eggs with chalky coating are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass, twigs, and debris. Incubation ranges from 40 to 47 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Brown Booby: Red-footed Booby dark morph is brown overall with brown underwings and red feet.

Flight Pattern

Strong, moderately rapid wing beats interrupted by sailing glide.
Brown Booby Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Brown Booby: Worldwide in tropical seas; summer visitor to the Gulf coast and Caribbean Sea; casually farther north in western Atlantic; occasionally seen in southern California’s Salton Sea; accidental along Pacific coast. Pelagic, breeds on coastal islands.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationCasual to rare
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight38.4 Ounces
Gull-like HeadX
Gull-like BodyX
Gull-like FlightX
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX