Boobies and gannets | Sulidae

Genten | Alcatraces | Boobies and gannets

Large seabirds with a cigar-shaped body, long pointed wings and a wedge-shaped tail; the heavy conical bill has no hook, but its finely serrated cutting edges hold a slippery fish. The eyes are set well forward and give the depth judgement the plunge dive demands: from a great height the bird falls into the sea with its wings swept back, air sacs under the skin of head, neck and breast absorbing the impact. This guide covers six species, all of the genus Sula. Over the cold Humboldt Current along the coast of Peru the Peruvian Booby hunts shoals of anchovy in dense swarms, alongside sea lions, dolphins and shearwaters, and breeds in colonies of tens of thousands of pairs on the guano islands and rocky coasts. On the Galápagos and other offshore islands the Blue-footed and Nazca Boobies nest on the ground and the Red-footed Booby in shrubs and trees, while the Brown Booby occurs mainly along the tropical coast of Colombia and Ecuador. The chick hatches almost naked and takes several years to reach adult plumage.