“Sula nebouxii”
Blue-footed Boobies are famous for their link to the Charles Darwin expedition to the Galápagos Islands and their name. The word “booby” comes from the Spanish “bobo” meaning “stupid fellow” and was probably inspired by the bird’s clumsiness on land. They are extremely vulnerable to human visitors because they do not appear to fear us. A tropical seabird with famous bright blue webbed feet, a brown & white-streaked head, blue-gray facial skin and a solid white body, they may approach 1.5 meters in wingspan. The bird itself is a little under a meter long (about the size of a goose) with a long curved neck and can live as long as 17 years. Though best-known as a Galápagos inhabitant, Blue-footed Boobies can be found on several other arid islands off the western coasts of tropical America, Mexico and northern South America, from the coast of California to southern Peru. A skilled hunter in the air and on water despite its awkward gait on land, Blue-footed Boobies dine solely on fish. Flying over the water generally no higher than 25 meters, they keep their bill pointed downward poised for action. When they spot a fish, they break into a graceful dive making almost no splash as they enter the water like an arrow, then popping up on the surface a few feet away with their prize. These seabirds are such accurate dive bombers that they have even been known to catch flying fish mid-leap. Unlike other boobies, Blue-footed Boobies can also dive from a floating position on the surface of the water as well.
Blue-footed Boobies prefer to eat alone, but they are not entirely opposed to group dining and occasionally hunts cooperatively in flocks. When a member of the flock spots a fish, they will whistle to alert the others and the entire flock descends, perfectly synchronized, on its unlucky prey. Males are smaller and thus tend to stick with shallow dives closer to shore, while heavier females make deeper dives offshore. Even if the name doesn’t make you laugh, a Blue-footed Booby’s elaborate courtship rituals might. Breeding may occur at any time of year. First, the male flaunts his brilliant blue feet with an exaggerated high-stepping strut and presents nest materials to the female. A brief courtship flight follows, after which the male proudly flashes his blue feet to the female once more. Then both male & female tilt their bills upward, giving respectively a piercing whistle and a series of groans. Mating follows. Females usually lay 2 or 3 blue-green eggs in shallow depressions on flat ground, far away from other nests. The Blue-footed Booby lacks “brooding patches” of skin to keep the eggs warm, so instead it uses its feet to incubate them. Despite their blue appearance, the feet have an excellent blood supply. The eggs take about 45 days to hatch, after which time the female will balance them on top of her feet for a month. Both parents feed the chicks continuously with regurgitated fish through their bills. In the event of a famine, the parents will feed only the largest chick sacrificing the others. Chicks stay with their parents for about 2 months.