Booby

The boobies are part of the family Sulidae, a group of seabirds closely related to gannets. The true boobies all belong to the genus Sula.

These are large birds with long pointed wings and long bills. They hunt fish by diving from a height into the sea and pursuing their prey underwater. They have facial air sacs under their skin which 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. Their name is possibly based on the Spanish slang term bubi, meaning "dunce", 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 to have been caught and eaten by shipwrecked sailors, notably Captain Bligh of HMAV Bounty and his loyalists during their famous voyage after being set adrift by Fletcher Christian and his mutineers.