Red-footed Booby

The red-footed booby is the smallest booby, measuring 69–79 cm and weighing roughly 850–1,100 g. Adults vary remarkably: some are mostly white with black flight feathers, others entirely brown, and some brown with a white tail. All adults share bright red webbed feet, a pale bluish bill and patches of rosy and blue facial skin. Juveniles are sooty brown with greyish bills and can resemble young brown boobies, but the slimmer build and longer tail are useful clues (Cornell Lab of Ornithology).

This pantropical seabird ranges across warm Atlantic, Indian and Pacific waters. It searches over the open ocean, plunge-diving for flying fish, snake mackerels, squid and other prey pushed near the surface by tuna; it may also catch flying fish in the air. Unlike most boobies, it commonly nests in seaside trees or shrubs, building a twig platform for a single egg. Colonies occur on remote tropical islands, while non-breeders may rest on ships or circle productive upwellings far offshore (Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Australian Government species profile).