Blue- footed Booby

The booby's particular name may emanate from the Spanish "bobo," meaning buffoon or stupid fellow. They call this blue-footed booby "stupid fellow" because its lack of fear and gawkiness on land that made it an easy quarry for man. The booby displays exceptional mildness, interesting stances, blue feet, and curious manners.

The blue-footed is the most common and accepted of the boobies with tourists. Three species of boobies are found in the Galapagos: the blue-footed, masked (white), and red-footed booby.

The blue-footed booby's characteristic feet play a significant part in their famous courtship ceremony. Courting Rituals: The male broadcasts his intentions with a special sky pointing display and, once he attracts a female, the male lifts one foot and then the other. Next, the female and the male take turns posing either the bill-up-face-away stance, until their manners become coincidental.

The Blue Footed Booby reaches sexual age at about three to four years old. After mating, the booby's unusual demeanor continues with ritual nest-building that really serves no purpose other than contributing to pair bonding. When the female is ready to lay her eggs, they scrape the existing nest away so she can nest on exposed ground. Sun-baked islands form the booby's breeding grounds. When ready the female Blue Footed Booby lays one to three eggs.

Both parents incubate the eggs for about 43 days. The booby incubates its eggs with the warm blood supply in the webbing of its blue feet. After hatching, the chicks will sit on the parents' feet until they are about a month old. At about this age they will be able to control their own body temperature.

Even more unusual is the distinguishing ring of guano around the nest area. The birds squirt their excrement in a ring around the nesting area. Some scientists believe this circle corresponds with an imaginary line designating a nesting turf. Should a chick stray outside this region, the parents no longer treat the young bird as one of their own. This conduct may have developed to thwart parents from raising another bird's young. Sometimes an older sibling deliberately pushes the newly hatched out of the nest and ringed area. Scientists call this sibling assassination by opportunity. The blue-footed booby likes plenty of space around its nest, and its breeding season occurs almost year round on Galapagos.

Boobies possess a superb hunting technique that includes dive bombing. They stop while in flight and launch themselves in a head long dive into the ocean from an altitude up to 80 feet. They hit the water at break neck speed and reappear at the surface about 8 to 10 feet away. People wonder, how do they survive the impact? Over time, evolution adapted Boobies for such behavior with air sacks in their skull to cushion the crash and nostrils that close to keep water out. They also have a tapered bill and pointed tail that helps to stream line their torpedo shaped bodies.

Their diet consists of fish. When feeding they will dine alone or collectively as a group. Their voice sounds like short, high-pitched squeaks and some Blue Footed Boobies have lived 17 or more years.

Another interesting fact about the blue footed booby is the pupils in the female's eyes appear larger than the male's. This is a deception. The female has rings of dark color around her pupils that make them look larger.