Ecuador
Blue-footed Booby
July 2004
The blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a seabird of the tropical and subtropical eastern Pacific, occurring from the Gulf of California southward along the coasts of Central and South America to Peru, including the Galápagos Islands. It belongs to the Sulidae family, which includes boobies and gannets.
Its blue feet play an important role in courtship. During an elaborate display, the male lifts each foot in a high-stepping walk, points his bill skyward, spreads his wings, and may present a small stone or piece of nesting material. Foot coloration is influenced partly by carotenoid pigments obtained through its diet and can provide potential mates with information about an individual’s physical condition.
Blue-footed boobies feed primarily on schooling fish. They locate prey while flying and plunge headfirst into the sea, sometimes diving from heights of approximately 80 feet (24 meters). Their streamlined bodies and closed external nostrils are adaptations for plunge-diving.
Breeding occurs when marine food conditions are favorable rather than according to a uniform annual schedule. Females generally lay one to three eggs several days apart in a shallow ground nest. Both parents incubate the eggs for approximately 41 to 45 days, using their highly vascularized feet because boobies lack the featherless incubation patch found in many other birds. Both adults later feed the chicks by regurgitating fish.
