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Rookery
Blue-footed Booby, a uncommon bird in Roost
  • Blue-footed Booby, profile

    Profile

  • Blue-footed Booby, in flight

    In flight

Seabirds

Blue-footed Booby

Sula nebouxii

  • uncommon
  • 32 km/h
  • Least Concern

Those blue feet aren't just for show. They're for stomping out a delivery dance.

Population
~90,000 mature individuals (declining)
Habitat
Strictly marine outside breeding season, favoring cool nutrient-rich upwelling zones; breeds on cliffs, islets, and rocky/sandy coastal areas with sparse vegetation
Fun fact
Male blue-footed boobies perform an elaborate foot-lifting, sky-pointing courtship dance, and the vividness of their carotenoid-pigmented blue feet serves as an honest signal of health and fertility to prospective mates.
Range
Eastern Pacific coast of the Americas from the Gulf of California and northwestern Mexico south through Central America to northern Peru, including the Galápagos Islands (roughly half of all breeding pairs nest there); vagrants reach California and northern Chile
Diet
Small schooling fish such as sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and flying fish, plus squid, caught by plunge-diving from the air
Size
0.81 m
Wingspan
1.5 m
Lifespan
18 years

More Seabirds

The next 12 of the 73 in the collection, after this one.