The Brown Booby is the most common booby around Kwajalein. They are most often seen offshore, feeding on schools of fish. Occasionally they can be seen in the lagoon, usually resting on buoys or marker poles. They apparently do occasionally breed in the atoll, since we have seen at least two different young birds found near Roi-Namur that were being raised by people. Brown Boobies are a favorite target for Frigatebirds, who try to get them to throw up their meals.
Several booby species have chicks covered with white down. We think this one is a Brown Booby from the shape of the bill and the dark wings starting to show up under the thinning white down. This chick was photographed by Christina Sylvester on one of the islands along the atoll's north reef.
Created 26 January 2018
Updated 12 March 2018