This large chocolate brown and white bird is related to gannets, and in Australia is found on the northern coast, the northern areas of Western Australia and in south east Queensland.

Occasionally at this time of the year, some sightings occur on the NSW coast.

I recently visited Christmas Island, an Australian Indian Ocean Territory, where these birds breed and are reasonably common.

I was very surprised when I returned home to find that a lone bird had been sighted at Stockton Breakwater in Newcastle.

Not only does the Booby have an unusual name, but a very unusual appearance.

While it is brown on its back and wings, its underside and belly is white, with a very clear demarcation where the colour stops abruptly across the birds breast.

The legs are yellow with large yellow feet with webbing connecting all four toes. It has a long conical bill and forward-facing eyes.

The facial skin is different, for each sex. Blue for males and yellowish for females.

The whole effect is a very clownish looking bird.

Brown Boobys feed at sea and only come ashore to breed. The gregarious bird commutes and forages at low height over inshore waters.

They have a sleek streamlined body and dive for fish from 15 metres above the surface.

They like to congregate where predatory fish like tuna, drive smaller fish to the surface. Fishing boats are also an attraction.

These amazing birds are good swimmers and use both their feet and wings to swim underwater.

They eat flying fish, squid, mullet and anchovies to name a few.

The booby breeds on islands off north west Australia and the Barrier Reef in Queensland.

They build a nest on flat ground, consisting of branches, bones, grass and human generated rubbish. The birds nest in colonies and lay one or two bluish eggs.

Climate change may have a dramatic impact on this species as rising seawater will inundate their nest sites.

The Brown Booby seen in Newcastle recently had the hook from a fishing lure embedded in its chest and when first seen, the plastic fish lure was still attached.

The photo above clearly shows the hook in the bird's chest.

It seems that humans as well are a risk to the survival of some birds.

Hunter Bird Observer’s Club website can be found at: http://www.hboc.org.au/ or you can follow us on Facebook.