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The blue footed booby is a goose size tropical seabird that breeds on islands off the Pacific coast and on the Galapagos. It catches fish in spectacular plunging dives beneath the surface of the waves. The name "booby" comes from the Spanish word bobo which means "stupid fellow." The blue-footed booby is so called because its lack of fear and it’s clumsiness on land have made it easy prey for man. The pupils in the female’s eyes appear larger than the male’s This is an illusion- the female has rings of dark pigment around her pupils that make them look bigger. The blue-footed booby likes plenty of space around its nest, but its relative the gannet may pack as many as seven nests in a square yard at its breeding colony. The blue-footed booby has brown and white plumage that greatly contrasts with its bright blue feet and greenish-gray bill. Its head is pale brown and streaked with whitish feathers. Like the many other animals of the Galapagos Islands, the blue-footed booby is remarkably tame. As a result, it is one of the most photographed of all the islands’ bird species.
During the breeding season, which is year-round, the males stage elaborate courtship displays. After mating, two to three eggs are laid in a shallow depression on flat or gently sloping ground. Both male take turns incubating the eggs. Unlike most birds, the blue-footed booby - along with its relatives the gannet, the cormorant, the tropicbird, and the pelican - lacks patches of bare skin, called brooding patches, that serve to transmit heat from the bird’s body to the eggs. Instead, the booby incubates the eggs beneath its broad, webbed feet. The feet have a increased blood supply which conveys heat to the eggs, maintaining a constant temperature of 103°F. When the chicks start to hatch, the booby supports the eggs on the tops of its feet. The chicks, which have only a sparse covering of down, are brooded here. Chicks feed from both the male and the female, thrusting their bills inside their parents’ to obtain regurgitated fish. The male brings in a constant supply of small fish for the chicks, who must be fed continually. If food is scarce, the largest of the chicks will be fed at the expense of the survival of its smaller, weaker nest mates. This behavior ensures that alt least one chick in each brood will survive. If more food is available, all the chicks may survive.
Courting Rituals: The male parades around his nesting territory, flaunting his blue feet in an exaggerated, high-stepping walk, and presents small pieces of nest material to the female.
Flight Display: the male also flashes his feet at his mate in an airborne "salute" while landing after making a courtship flight over his territory.
Pointing Display: Each bird angles its bill to the sky and tilts its wings around so that the upper faces are angled forward. The male then utters a thin, piercing whistle, while the female gives groaning calls.
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