Bird Guide

Brown Booby vs Red-footed Booby

Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)

Brown Booby

Sula leucogaster

Large1.3 kgMarine

The booby's head and upper body (back) is covered in dark brown to blackish plumage, with the remainder (belly) being a contrasting white. The bare-part colours vary geographically, but not seasonally. The species also displays sexual dimorphism of the bare part colours, the males having a blue orbital ring, as opposed to the yellow orbital ring of the female. Female boobies reach about 80 centimetres (31 in) in length; their wingspans measure up to 150 cm (4.9 ft), and they can weigh up to 1,300 g (2.9 lb).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Virtual-Pano · CC BY 4.0
Red-footed Booby (Sula sula)

Red-footed Booby

Sula sula

Large1.0 kgMarine

The red-footed booby is the smallest member of the booby and gannet family at about 70 cm (28 in) in length and with a wingspan of up to 152 cm (60 in). The average weight of 490 adults from Christmas Island was 837 g (1.845 lb). It has red legs, and its bill and throat pouch are coloured pink and blue. This species has several morphs. In the white morph the plumage is mostly white (the head often tinged yellowish) and the flight feathers are black. The black-tailed white morph is similar, but with a black tail, and can easily be confused with the Nazca and masked boobies.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: AnonymousUnknown author, United States Coast Guard · Public domain

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Brown Booby and Red-footed Booby.