Boobies are cousins of pelicans. The red-footed booby nests in shrubs and trees. About 750 pairs nest at Midway.
Boobies are famous for their dramatic feeding behavior. These large birds dive into the water from 50 feet to catch fish and squid.
	The orientation of the eyes of this juvenile illustrates the binocular vision that helps the bird to find prey items in the water from great heights. Like humans, the placement of their eyes allows them to determine depth of field.
Boobies spend most of the day resting in trees since they do most of their feeding at night.
	Visitors attract the curiosity of these birds. These tame, island-nesting natives did not fear land predators, like people; so Portuguese sailors named these seemingly "stupid" birds, boobies.