There is an anecdote, apocryphal I’m sure, relating to the days when Bird Week was a thing at the resort on Fraser Island, Queensland. The leaders were on the ferry. Our hero is a well known birder, author and broadcaster. As the boat neared the shore he started dancing with excitement calling out, “Boobies, boobies”. His fellow bird nerds were in in-principle agreement but more restrained. Quite what the tourists made of it is a matter of speculation.
There are nine members of the Sulidae. Three temperate species are called Gannets, the remainder prefer warmer waters and these are the Boobies. They all have similar body forms and feed on fish and squid by plunge diving. They are restricted to marine habitats and for the most part stay fairly close to shore.
The species I see most often is the Brown Booby. It is found near tropical shores all around the globe with the exception of the west coast of South America. They can often be found at the Port of Broome or the nearby Entrance Point. They loaf on rocks or floating navigation aids when they’ve nothing better to do. They are quite happy to feed close to shore. They patrol up and down and plunge onto their prey. They tend to do this singly or in pairs or a trio. It’s good to watch and each one does the best it can but it’s not the spectacle of a frenzied mob turning the surface to foam that flocks of Gannets occasionally provide.
The scientific name is Sula leucogaster, the sulid with the white belly which doesn’t advance your identification at all because all the sulids have white bellies. The common name, Brown Booby, doesn’t help greatly either. At anything greater than arms length they look black and white. They are the only sulid with a dark hood cut off sharply across the upper breast.
bobmcgee 