Family
Sulidae (Boobies and gannets)
Sula leucogaster. Photo: (c) Максим Стефанович, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulids, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula. However, Sula (true boobies) and Morus (gannets) can be readily distinguished by morphological, behavioral, and DNA sequence characters. Abbott’s booby (Papasula) is given its own genus as it stands apart from both in…
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