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Blue-footed booby

Sula nebouxii

Photo by Amy Raybuck
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

The Blue-footed Booby is on average 81 centimetres (32 in) long and weighs 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), with the females slightly larger than the males. It has long pointed wings and a wedge shaped tail. They have strong, thick necks. The booby's eyes are placed on either side of their bill and oriented towards the front. They have excellent binocular vision. The Blue-footed Booby's eyes are yellow. The male has more yellow on its iris than the female. The Blue-footed Booby has permanently closed nostrils made for diving. They breathe through the corners of their mouths. Their feet range from a pale turquoise to a deep aquamarine. Males and younger birds have lighter feet than females do.The name booby comes from the Spanish term bobo, which means "stupid" or "fool"/"clown". This is because the Blue-footed Booby is clumsy on the land, and (like other seabirds), they can be very tame and therefore easily captured, killed, and eaten by humans.

Habitat:

A bird in the Sulidae family which comprises ten species of long-winged seabirds. The natural breeding habitat of the Blue-footed Booby is tropical and subtropical islands off the Pacific Ocean, most famously, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (4)

Haha! Thanks! I just got back. I wanted to share the wonder of the islands.
I feel like I am taking a tour of the Galapagos islands and it is fascinating!
Photographed
PublishedMarch 21, 2011

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