Sula sula

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PELECANIFORMES	SULIDAE

Scientific Name:

Sula sula

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1766)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Red-footed Booby
French	–	Fou à pieds rouges

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
Although this species may have a restricted range, it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species winters on tropical islands in most oceans, excluding the eastern Atlantic. It winters at sea in the same area, just ranging north of the Tropic of Cancer, and just south of the Tropic of Capricorn¹.
Countries:	Native: Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Australia; Bahamas; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belize; Brazil; British Indian Ocean Territory; Cayman Islands; China; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Colombia; Comoros; Cook Islands; Costa Rica; Cuba; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Fiji; French Guiana; French Polynesia; Grenada; Guam; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; India; Indonesia; Jamaica; Japan; Kiribati; Madagascar; Malaysia; Marshall Islands; Martinique; Mayotte; Mexico; Montserrat; Netherlands Antilles; New Caledonia; Niue; Northern Mariana Islands; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Pitcairn; Puerto Rico; Réunion; Saint Helena; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Seychelles; Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Timor-Leste; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands; Tuvalu; United States; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Wallis and Futuna Vagrant: Guadeloupe; Hong Kong; Kenya; Maldives; Nauru; Oman; Panama; Portugal; Russian Federation; Saint Martin (French part); Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; United Arab Emirates Present - origin uncertain: American Samoa; French Southern Territories (the); Guyana; Mozambique; Nicaragua; Norfolk Island; Singapore; Somalia; Suriname; Taiwan, Province of China; Tokelau; Vanuatu
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species is strictly marine and largely pelagic. It feeds mainly on flying-fish and squid with a mean prey length of 8.8 cm. Prey are caught by plunge-diving, but flying fish are also taken in flight especially when chased by underwater predators. It often rests on boats using them as vantage points. Breeding is not seasonal in most of its range. Individuals form large colonies, nesting and roosting mainly in trees or on islets with abundant vegetation¹.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

This species is strictly marine and largely pelagic. It feeds mainly on flying-fish and squid with a mean prey length of 8.8 cm. Prey are caught by plunge-diving, but flying fish are also taken in flight especially when chased by underwater predators. It often rests on boats using them as vantage points. Breeding is not seasonal in most of its range. Individuals form large colonies, nesting and roosting mainly in trees or on islets with abundant vegetation¹.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Marine

Bibliography [top]

	del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Sula sula. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2012.
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