NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 51 



[114] Sula cyanops Sund. [651.] 



Blue-faced Booby. 



Hab. South Pacific, West Indies and Southern Florida. 



The Gannets are birds that resemble very closely the cormorants, 

 and, again, they may be said to look like geese — a name often applied 

 to them. They are large, heavy sea-birds, noted for their vigorous 

 protracted flight. They procure their food by plunging into the water 

 from a height, completely submerging themselves, often for several 

 minutes. The Blue-faced Gannet inhabits the Southern Pacific Ocean 

 as far southwest as Australia. In some of the Islands of the Paumotu 

 Group this species deposits its eggs on the dry sandy beaches of 

 lagoons. Both sexes incubate. When a colony of these birds is dis- 

 turbed none of them leave their nests, but remain gravely at their 

 stations, and hiss at the intruder like a domestic goose. On the 

 Bahamas this species nests in the latter part of March, laying always 

 two eggs. These are white, covered with a calcareous deposite ; sizes 

 range from 2.45 to 2.60 long by 1.67 to 1.75 broad. 



115. Sula sula (Linn.) [652.] 



Booby. 



Hab. Tropical and sub-tropical coasts and islands of America, north to Georgia. 



The Booby Gannet is said to breed on some of the islands about 

 the extreme southern coast of Florida. In the Bermuda Islands, and 

 in some of the Bahamas, and many of those along the coasts of Cen- 

 tral and South America, this Gannet congregates by thousands at 

 its breeding places, where it deposits its eggs on the sand of the 

 beaches, or on the bare rock ; no nest whatever is made. The food of 

 this species consists chiefly of flying-fish and small mullets, which 

 they disgorge in a half macerated state into the open mouths of their 

 young. Audubon found mullets weighing more than a half a pound 

 in the bodies of the gannets he examined. 



In various islands of the southern oceans the Booby constructs its 

 nest of sticks and weeds on bushes and low trees. Here it is said to 

 lay but one egg. 



Observations of those who have collected in the West Indies dis- 

 close the fact that the complete nest complement is two eggs. These 

 are of a uniform dull, chalky white in color, with great variations in 

 sizes, measuring from 2.16 to 2.64 long by 1.50 to 1.57 broad. 



[116,] Sula piscator (Linn.) [653.] 



Red-footed Booby. 



Hab. Coast and islands of tropical and sub-tropical seas, north to Western Mexico and Florida. 



The Red-footed Booby is characterized by the same general habits 



