Cocos Booby
I have just realised that thanks to a recent (2024) taxonomic split I have added a new species to my world list. This species was formerly known as Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) with a circumtropical distribution. But birds from the eastern Pacific have been split as Cocos (or Brewster's) Booby (Sula brewsteri) due to morphological and behavioural differences. Incidentally the name has already changed because of the growing antipathy (mainly in America) to naming things after people. It was first described and named as Brewster's Booby by Nathaniel Goss in 1888 after his ornithologist friend William Brewster. But in 1944 it was lumped with Brown Booby, and in 2024 it was resplit. Apparently they rarely interbreed when they come into contact and Cocos Booby has more white around the head and face, though this nominate northern subspecies is the darkest race of Cocos. This is a male identified by the pale blue around his eyes and face. I photographed him on a small nesting island in the Sea of Cortez.
Cocos Booby
I have just realised that thanks to a recent (2024) taxonomic split I have added a new species to my world list. This species was formerly known as Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) with a circumtropical distribution. But birds from the eastern Pacific have been split as Cocos (or Brewster's) Booby (Sula brewsteri) due to morphological and behavioural differences. Incidentally the name has already changed because of the growing antipathy (mainly in America) to naming things after people. It was first described and named as Brewster's Booby by Nathaniel Goss in 1888 after his ornithologist friend William Brewster. But in 1944 it was lumped with Brown Booby, and in 2024 it was resplit. Apparently they rarely interbreed when they come into contact and Cocos Booby has more white around the head and face, though this nominate northern subspecies is the darkest race of Cocos. This is a male identified by the pale blue around his eyes and face. I photographed him on a small nesting island in the Sea of Cortez.