- Animals
- Reference
Blue-Footed Booby
- Common Name:
- Blue-Footed Booby
- Scientific Name:
- Sula nebouxii
- Type:
- Birds
- Diet:
- Carnivore
- Group Name:
- Flock
- Average Life Span In The Wild:
- 17 years
- Size:
- 32 to 34 inches; wingspan: nearly 5 feet
- Weight:
- 3.25 pounds
- IUCN Red List Status:
- Least concern
- Current Population Trend:
- Stable
Blue-footed boobies are aptly namedand males take great pride in their fabulous feet. During mating ritualsmale birds show off their feet to prospective mates with a high-stepping strut. The bluer the feetthe more attractive the mate.
Population Range
These boobies live off the western coasts of Central and South America. The Galápagos Islands population includes about half of all breeding pairs of blue-footed boobies.
Behavior
Like other boobiesblue-foots nest on land at night. When day breaksthey take to the air in search of seafoodsometimes fishing in cooperative groups. They may fly far out to sea while keeping a keen eye out for schools of small fishsuch as anchovies. When their prey is in sightthese seabirds utilize the physical adaptations that make them exceptional divers. They fold their long wings back around their streamlined bodies and plunge into the water from as high as 80 feet. Blue-footed boobies can also dive from a sitting position on the water's surface.
Blue-footed boobies also use their webbed feet to cover their young and keep them warm. When a typical brood of one to three chicks hatchesboth parents feed and care for them.
Boobies on Land
All half-dozen or so booby species are thought to take their name from the Spanish word “bobo.” The term means “stupid,” which is how early European colonists may have characterized these clumsy and unwary birds when they saw them on land—their least graceful environment.