Blue Footed Booby Bird

Blue Footed Booby Bird one of the most amazing marine birds. They are known for their amazing blue color feet. They come in the category of least concern.

Image source: Google: https://wallpapercave.com/

Scientific name- Sula nebouxii

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Family	Sulidae
Genus	Sula
Species	nebouxii
Class	Aves

About-

The name booby comes from the Spanish word "bobo" which means stupid.

Booby birds are true seabirds. The group of booby birds is called congress or flocks. 

Size: 32 - 34 inch(81 cm)

Wingspan: 5 feet

Weight: 3.25 pound(1.5kg)

Lifespan: 17 years

They have excellent binocular vision.

Habitat-

They are native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. They are true seabirds but most of them spend their lives near the coast.

They are found in central and southern America. The Galápagos including half of the breeding pairs.

In Espanola, Santa Cruz, Pinzon, Isabella, Floreana, Fernandina blue Footed Booby birds are found in large numbers.

Diet-

They mostly feed on seafood, anchovies, sardines, fishes, and some occasional squid.

Predators-

Booby mainly has one predator - Galápagos Hawk. They mostly attack those boobies whose parents begin to leave them and less attention are given to them.

Why blue-footed booby birds have blue feet?

They have blue feet because of the pigment Carotenoid, which they get from their diet. Carotenoids act as antioxidants and stimulants for Blue-Footed Boobys immune function. This blue color indicates the health of a booby bird. 

Identification-

Females are slightly larger than males. The wing is brown. The neck and head are light browns with white stripes. Their belly and underside are pure white. Their feet are blue. They have yellow color eyes. Male has dark yellow colored eyes than females.

Their chicks have black beaks and their feet are encase in a pane.

Nesting and Mating-

Females get mature at the age of 1-6 years. While male reaches their sexual maturity at 2-6 years of age. Boobies conduct a foot flaunting dance during courtship to fascinate females. Bluesier the feet will more be the chances of getting an adequate partner. This applies to both males and females. The selection of partners is done based on blue color. For their first reproduction, they mostly make their nest near their own original natal nest. They have high-quality nests. they are monogamous breeders. The female lays 2- 3 eggs. The incubation period is over 41-45 days. This species practices asynchronous hatching. This is the reason, that most of the time only one baby gets detailed supervision. Because the hatching times of eggs are different. 

Is it legal to own Blue Footed Booby Bird??

No, in most of the country it is not legal to concede a blue-footed booby. Sometimes it's difficult to feed them because they usually feed on seafood, which can be expensive.