The Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) is an Australian bird or regular visitor that can be identified most reliably by combining shape, plumage, habitat and behaviour. A medium booby with unmistakable bright red feet; plumage is highly variable, ranging from mostly white to brown forms, and the bill is pale bluish with coloured facial skin. Adults are typically about 66–77 cm long, although posture, sex, age and plumage can affect how large an individual appears in the field.
How to identify a Red-footed Booby
A medium booby with unmistakable bright red feet; plumage is highly variable, ranging from mostly white to brown forms, and the bill is pale bluish with coloured facial skin. Start with overall silhouette before focusing on colour. Check the bill, legs, tail, wing shape and any bold head or body pattern. Distance, shade, glare and strong Australian sunlight can change the apparent colour of feathers, so several matching features are more useful than a single mark.
Red-footed Boobies are agile fliers and often feed far offshore. Unlike most other boobies they perch readily in trees and shrubs. Behaviour can be one of the quickest ways to confirm an identification because closely related birds often feed, fly or perch differently even when their plumage looks similar.
Where is the Red-footed Booby found in Australia?
A tropical oceanic species around Australia’s remote northern waters and external territories, particularly associated with islands such as Christmas Island and Coral Sea cays.
Typical habitat includes open tropical ocean and remote wooded or shrubby islands used for colonial nesting. Distribution can shift with rainfall, drought, breeding conditions, migration, tides and local food supply, so an apparently unusual sighting should be checked against season as well as location.
What does the Red-footed Booby eat?
Flying fish, squid and other small marine prey caught by plunge-diving or surface pursuit. Watching exactly how a bird feeds can provide another useful clue. Note whether it runs and pecks, probes mud, sweeps its bill, plunge-dives, surface-dips or catches food in flight. Feeding technique often separates species that share the same habitat.
Wild birds do not need processed human food. Protecting natural habitat, clean water and native food sources is usually a better way to support them than regular feeding.
Behaviour and calls
Red-footed Boobies are agile fliers and often feed far offshore. Unlike most other boobies they perch readily in trees and shrubs.
At colonies they produce whistles, grunts and harsh calls; birds at sea are generally quiet. Voice can be especially useful when distance, a crowded flock or low light makes visual identification difficult. Try to notice the rhythm and tone as well as a written approximation of the sound.
Nesting and breeding
They nest in trees or shrubs on tropical islands, building a platform of sticks rather than nesting directly on bare ground. Breeding timing varies according to latitude, climate and species. Many migratory shorebirds seen in Australia breed in the Northern Hemisphere, while resident terns and seabirds may nest on Australian beaches or offshore islands. If you find a nest or dependent young, observe from a respectful distance.
Similar birds
Brown Boobies have darker feet and a sharply white belly, while Masked Boobies are larger and mostly white with black wings and tail.
When two species remain difficult to separate, compare photographs against multiple field marks rather than choosing on colour alone. Geographic range, voice, habitat and feeding style may be more decisive than one feather pattern.
Quick identification tip
Remember three things: its approximate size is 66–77 cm; its key visual clue is a medium booby with unmistakable bright red feet; plumage is highly variable, ranging from mostly white to brown forms, and the bill is pale bluish with coloured facial skin.; and a typical setting is open tropical ocean and remote wooded or shrubby islands used for colonial nesting. Matching all three gives a much stronger identification than any one clue by itself.
Sources and further reading
For additional Australian bird information and conservation guidance, see BirdLife Australia bird profiles and the Australian Museum bird collection. Image licensing and creator information for this page is recorded from the linked Wikimedia Commons file page.
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