A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the family Sulidae. Boobies are closely related to the gannets (Morus), which were formerly included in Sula.
Name
The English name booby may derive from the Spanish slang term bobo, meaning "stupid", 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 as having been caught and eaten by shipwrecked sailors, including William Bligh of the Bounty and his adherents during their voyage after being set adrift by Fletcher Christian and his followers.
Systematics and evolution
Six of the ten extant Sulidae species called boobies are in the genus Sula, while the three gannet species are usually placed in the genus Morus. Abbott's booby was formerly included in Sula but is now placed in a monotypic genus Papasula, which represents an...
crzwdjk ✅
All GNU social JP content and data are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.