They are found widely in the tropics, and breed colonially in coastal regions, especially isolated islands such as St. Brandon, Mauritius (Cargados Carajos shoals).

The red-footed booby was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766, in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae.

The black-tailed white morph is similar, but with a black tail, and can easily be confused with the Nazca and masked boobies.

The sexes are similar, and juveniles are brownish with darker wings, and pale pinkish legs, while chicks are covered in dense white down.

[10] In the Pacific, populations can be found in the Galapagos Islands, mostly on Genovesa and San Cristobal[11] and in Hawaii, on Kauai.

They generally catch prey by diving into the ocean vertically from heights of 4 to 8 m (13 to 26 ft), although flying fish may be caught while in the air.

[18] Red-footed booby nestlings and eggs are also attacked by a variety of predators, including rats, cats, pigs,[13] raptors,[19] and Micronesian starlings,[20] although introduced mammalian predators have a limited impact as the booby nests in trees.

[13] Parasites recorded from the species include the tick Ornithodoros capensis in nests and the bird louse Pectino pygus in adults.

[13] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the red-footed booby as a species of least concern, though the population worldwide is decreasing.