Brown boobies (Sula leucogaster)
Price Cay, Swains Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Raine Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Brown Boobies are pan-tropical found across most oceans. They are entirely marine and forage in inshore waters. This species, like the masked booby plunges into the water from height in pursuit of its prey which primarily consists of squid and flying fish or other schooling fish. They breed on the ground and often make rudimentary nests from pieces of debris (particles of drift wood or plastics). In the Swains Reefs which is my current study location as with the Masked Boobies, while tracking these chick-rearing adults, I have observed an apparent preference for blue coloured pieces of plastic. This habit and the identification of debris utilised by these birds is currently being investigated by Krista Verlis of CQU.