Blue-footed booby
The blue-footed booby is a tropical seabird native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, particularly abundant on the Galapagos Islands. Known for its striking pastel-blue feet and white body, this bird is approximately 30 to 35 inches long, with females being slightly larger and heavier than males. While the blue-footed booby is clumsy on land, it excels in swimming and diving, primarily feeding on fish such as sardines, anchovies, and mackerel. The species is monogamous, with mating displays centered around the male’s vibrant feet, and nests are typically shallow hollows in the ground where the female lays two to three eggs. Both parents share the responsibility of incubating the eggs and providing for the chicks, which depend on regurgitated food for sustenance. The blue-footed booby faces threats from human activities, including pollution and overfishing, contributing to its status as an endangered species. With a lifespan of over 17 years, this unique bird is noted for its distinctive calls and behaviors, making it a fascinating subject for wildlife enthusiasts and researchers alike.
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Blue-footed booby
The blue-footed booby is native to the tropical waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The blue-footed booby has bright, chalky, pastel-blue feet attached to its white body. With its webbed feet, this tropical seabird is clumsy on land, but is skillful in its diving and swimming after fish. The name booby comes from the Spanish word "bobo," which means stupid fellow. The birds appear stupid because of their clumsiness and apparent lack of fear around people.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Suliformes
Family: Sulidae
Genus: Sula
Species: Nebouxii
When it is floating in the water, the blue-footed booby does not appear much different from many other tropical seabirds. It has a long, cigar-shaped body with white plumage and brown wings. Its neck and head are light brown and streaked with white feathers. The goose-sized booby is 30 to 35 inches (75 to 89 centimeters) long. Females are slightly larger than males and are also heavier at four pounds (two kilograms) as compared to the males at three pounds (a little less than 1 1/2 kilograms).
What is most striking about this booby is its unique blue feet, which are the shade of pastel-blue chalk. The short legs and webbed feet of the bird make it clumsy on land. It is much better suited to life in the water. The blue-footed booby feeds on schools of fish, including sardines, anchovies, and mackerel. Flying at heights of 80 feet (25 meters), the booby scans the water for fish and then plummets in a dive into the water to seize its prey. It may also dive below the surface while swimming to catch its next meal in its greenish-gray bill, which has serrated, or jagged, edges. Flying fish may even find themselves flying right into the waiting bill of this skillful hunter. The male is smaller than the female and is able to dive into shallower water after smaller fish, while the female takes larger prey in deeper water. In this way, they avoid some competition for food. The booby most often feeds alone but may also hunt in groups. It usually feeds early in the morning and late in the afternoon, probably to avoid having a frigatebird steal its meal.
The name booby comes from the Spanish word "bobo," which means "stupid fellow." Those who named the bird thought that the booby was very clumsy on land and also lacked the good sense to be afraid of and flee from people. Most of the birds live on the Galapagos Islands where they are protected from human beings.
Mating season occurs year-round and is the occasion for the male to strut and display his flashy, blue feet. Blue-footed booby birds are generally monogamous. After mating, the female lays two to three eggs in the shallow hollow on the ground which is her nest. The birds keep a distance between their nest and those of their neighbors. The male helps her incubate the eggs with his warm, webbed, blue feet which keep the eggs at 103 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) until they hatch after 41 to 45 days. After they hatch, the booby chicks perch on their mother's feet to stay warm until they have their own feathers. They eat a constant supply of regurgitated fish from both parents' bills. If food is scarce, the oldest, largest chick survives while the other one or two die of starvation. The chicks may leave the nest, fly, and be independent just over three months after hatching. Blue-footed booby birds are not born with blue feet. They develop blue feet from their diet.
The life span of blue-footed booby is 17 or more years. They are most threatened by human activties, including pollution and overfishing. The blue-footed booby is an endagered species.
These birds have short, high-pitched squeaks, groaning calls, and thin, sharp whistles.
Bibliography
“Blue-footed Booby - Sula Nebouxii - Wildlife Journal Junior.” New Hampshire PBS, 2023, nhpbs.org/wild/bluefootedbooby.asp. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Blue-Footed Booby Identification.” All About Birds, 2024, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue-footed‗Booby/id. Accessed 21 Mar. 2024.