For the most part, any one specimen represents a common species for the particular region in which it was collected. On occasion, though, one can find some quite interesting rarities. This is quite a bit north of its normal range in the tropical ocean regions. There exist only a handful of sightings of the Red-footed Booby along California's coastline, and the Academy's specimen may be the only one actually collected from the state of California. This particular bird was found dead on the beach in 1994 and may have been blown off course by a storm at sea.
Boobies are seabirds which nest colonially on islands.
It feeds mostly by diving into the water for flying fish and squid, singly or in groups. It generally nests in trees. A pair of boobies will raise one chick each year. Although females are larger than males on average, they are not readily distinguishable from them in their plumage characteristics. During breeding season, the male does develop a greenish patch by the eye, but it quickly fades once incubation commences.