Home
Bird Guide
Bird Cams
Bird Academy
Bird ID Skills
Feeding Birds
Bird Friendly Homes
Problems
FAQs
Biology
News & Features
Videos
Get Involved

Living Bird Magazine
Membership Services
Support the Lab

IDMerlin Bird IDMerlin Bird ID Join Us

All About Birds

Search

Browse all birds

Looking forBird ID Help?

Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds.

Try Merlin Bird ID

Recently Viewed Species

Red-footed Booby

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Media Player Error
Update your browser

Adult light morph
Adult dark morph
Adult light morph

Red-footed Booby by Wang HC

Seabirds

Red-footed Booby

Sula sula

ORDER: Suliformes
FAMILY: Sulidae

HabitatOceans
FoodFish
NestingShrub
BehaviorAerial Dive
ConservationLow Concern

Basic Description

The smallest of the boobies, the Red-footed Booby is an uncommon visitor to the mainland United States. It is seen only rarely off the California coast and at sea off southern Florida, and it breeds in the Hawaiian Islands.

image of range map for Red-footed Booby

Range map provided by Birds of North AmericaExplore Maps

Other Names

Piquero Patirrojo (Spanish)
Fou à pieds rouges (French)

Cool Facts
- Like all boobies, the Red-footed Booby never carries its prey in its beak. Instead, it always swallows it before flying.
- The Red-footed Booby comes in a confusing array of color morphs, ranging from individuals that are all white except for blackish on the wing, to individuals that are entirely dark brown. Some birds fail to fit neatly into any of the typical color morph categories, and many variations exist. Color morphs do not segregate reproductively or geographically; individuals representing several morphs breed in a single colony.
- The oldest recorded Red-footed Booby was at least 22 years, 11 months old.

Compare with Similar Species

Click on an image to compare

Northern Gannet Adult  is similar to Red-footed Booby

Northern GannetAdult

Northern Gannet Juvenile is similar to Red-footed Booby

Northern GannetJuvenile

Brown Booby Adult (Atlantic) is similar to Red-footed Booby

Brown BoobyAdult (Atlantic)

Brown Booby Immature is similar to Red-footed Booby

Brown BoobyImmature

Masked Booby Adult is similar to Red-footed Booby

Masked BoobyAdult

Masked Booby Immature is similar to Red-footed Booby

Masked BoobyImmature

Blue-footed Booby Adult is similar to Red-footed Booby

Blue-footed BoobyAdult

Blue-footed Booby Immature is similar to Red-footed Booby

Blue-footed BoobyImmature

Looking for ID Help?

Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds.

Try Merlin Bird ID

Species in This Family

Boobies and Gannets(Order: Suliformes, Family:Sulidae)

Blue-footed Booby

Blue-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby

Northern Gannet

Northern Gannet

Browse Species in This Family

More to Read

eBird
Mesmerizing Migration: Watch 118 Bird Species Migrate Across a Map of the Western Hemisphere
Bird Academy
All About Feathers
Project FeederWatch
Tricky Bird IDs

Building Skills: The 4 Keys to Bird Identification
Living Bird Magazine
Analysis: The Economic Value of Birds
Bird ID Skills: How to Learn Bird Songs and Calls

Red-footed Booby

Overview
ID Info
Life History
Maps
Sounds
Merlin Bird ID

Overview
What We Do
Visit the Lab
Job Opportunities
News Releases

Citizen Science

eBird
Project Feederwatch
NestWatch
Celebrate Urban Birds
Great Backyard Bird Count
Habitat Network

Lifelong Learning

Online Courses
Workshops
Bird Walks & Events
Spring Field Ornithology
BirdSleuth

Birds of North America
Clements Checklist
Neotropical Birds
State of the Birds
Annual Report
Scientific Citations
Living Bird Magazine

Bird Guide
Bird Cams
Macaulay Library
"Raven" Sound Analysis
Our Youtube Videos
FAQs

Support Our Cause

Join the Lab
Donate
Monthly Giving
Membership Services
Shop for Our Cause

Contact the Lab
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Site Credits

Copyright © 2017 Cornell University

New call-to-action

Do not show this again