Sulidae:<\/u> Boobies<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Red-footed Booby<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a9 Rick Lauzon<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Boobies and gannets are goose-sized seabirds that have the general appearance of gulls, but with long, thin wings, long necks, and large, conical bills.\u00a0 They are popularly known for the clownish mating rituals of some species\u2014most famously the Blue-footed Booby<\/strong> (Sula nebouxii<\/em>) on the Gal\u00e1pagos\u2014and for their dramatic, plunging dives into schools of fish.<\/p> The family is exclusively marine, foraging in both coastal and offshore waters, although some species are mainly pelagic and rarely seen near land except at their breeding colonies.\u00a0 Most boobies are tropical, but the three species known as \u201cgannets\u201d (genus Morus<\/em>) favor cold temperate waters.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Identification<\/strong><\/span><\/p> Boobies present a slew of difficult identification challenges.\u00a0 Some have light and dark morphs, some have juvenile or subadult plumages that strongly resemble one another or adults of other species.\u00a0 Leg and bill coloration are distinctive in many cases but also change with age.\u00a0 The legs of most species are gray at first, then develop into the distinctive adult colors.<\/p> To identify individuals encountered in transitional stages, it is often important to notice details of wing coloration, above and below.\u00a0 These patterns are often diagnostic and, compared to leg and bill color, are less dependent on lighting because they are delineations of the contrast between light and dark feathers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Female \u201cBrewster\u2019s Booby\u201d<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a9 Natalia Decastro Gonz\u00e1lez<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Taxonomy<\/strong><\/span><\/p> The internal systematics of the Sulidae<\/em> have been reexamined in recent decades.\u00a0 This has resulted in one form\u2014the Nazca Booby<\/strong> (S. granti<\/em>)<\/a>\u2014being shown to qualify as a separate species from the nearly identical, pantropical Masked Booby<\/strong> (S. dactylatra<\/em>)<\/a>.\u00a0 Pending further study of the \u201cTasman Booby\u201d<\/strong> (S. d. tasmani<\/em>)<\/a> and a possible subdivision of the Brown Booby<\/strong> (S. leucogaster<\/em>)<\/a>, the family comprises somewhere from 10 to 13 species.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Abbott\u2019s Booby<\/strong> (Papasula abbotti<\/em>)<\/p> Northern Gannet<\/strong> (Morus bassanus<\/em>)<\/a><\/p> Cape Gannet<\/strong> (Morus capensis<\/em>)<\/p> Australasian Gannet<\/strong> (Morus serrator<\/em>)<\/p> Red-footed Booby<\/strong> (Sula sula<\/em>)<\/a><\/p> Brown Booby<\/strong> (Sula leucogaster<\/em>)<\/a><\/p> \u201cAtlantic Booby\u201d<\/strong> (S. l. leucogaster<\/em>)<\/a><\/p> \u201cForster\u2019s Booby\u201d<\/strong> (S. l. plotus<\/em>)<\/a><\/p> \u201cBrewster\u2019s Booby\u201d<\/strong> (S. l. brewsteri<\/em>)<\/a><\/p> Masked Booby<\/strong> (Sula dactylatra<\/em>)<\/a><\/p> \u201cMasked Booby\u201d<\/strong> (S. d. dactylatra<\/em>)<\/a><\/p> \u201cTasman Booby\u201d<\/strong> (S. d. tasmani<\/em>)<\/a><\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/birdfinding.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/RfBooby4-e1549147850562.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/birdfinding.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/BrownBooby2.jpg\")
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