A booby is a
seabird in the
genus ''Sula'', part of the
family Sulidae. Boobies are closely related to the
gannets (''Morus''), which were formerly included in ''Sula''.
Systematics and evolution
The genus ''Sula'' was introduced by the French zoologist
Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The
type species is the
brown booby
The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...
. The name is derived from ''súla'', the
Old Norse and
Icelandic word for the other member of the family
Sulidae, the
gannet.
The English name "booby" was possibly based on the
Spanish slang term ''bobo'', meaning "stupid", as these tame birds had a habit of landing on board sailing ships, where they were easily captured and eaten. Owing to this, boobies are often mentioned as having been caught and eaten by shipwrecked sailors, notably
William Bligh of the
''Bounty'' and his adherents during their famous voyage after being set adrift by
Fletcher Christian and his followers.
Six of the ten extant Sulidae species called ''boobies'' are in the genus ''Sula'', while the three gannet species are usually placed in the genus ''
Morus''.
was formerly included in ''Sula'' but is now placed in a
monotypic genus ''Papasula'', which represents an ancient lineage perhaps closer to ''Morus''.
Some authorities consider that all ten species should be considered
congeneric in ''Sula''. However, they are readily distinguished by means of
osteology
Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, funct ...
. The distinct lineages of gannets and boobies are known to have existed in such form, since at least the Middle
Miocene, ''c.''15
mya
Mya may refer to:
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* Midwest Young Artists, a comprehensive youth music program
Codes
* Burmese ...
.
The fossil record of boobies is not as well documented as that of
gannets, either because booby speciation was lower from the late
Miocene to the
Pliocene (when gannet diversity was at its highest), or because the booby fossil species record is as yet incomplete, due to most localities being in continental
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
or
Europe despite boobies' more tropical distribution.
Behaviour
Boobies hunt fish by diving from a height into the sea and pursuing their prey underwater. Facial air sacs under their skin cushion the impact with the water. Boobies are colonial breeders on islands and coasts. They normally lay one or more chalky-blue eggs on the ground or sometimes in a tree nest. Selective pressures, likely through competition for resource, have shaped the ecomorphology and foraging behaviours of the six species of boobies in the Pacific.
List of species
References
External links
Videos of several Booby species on ''The Internet Bird Collection''Archived
from the original on 2016-04-12)
{{Authority control
*
Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson