The Blue Footed Booby

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Boobies are native to the coasts of South America, but over half of the worlds population of Blue Footed Boobies call the Galapagos Islands home. The Blue Footed Booby got its name from Spanish sailors calling it stupid. Bobo is Spanish for stupid/clown or fool. But the Blue Footed Booby is far from stupid. 

Mating

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The Blue Footed Booby could not have been more appropriately named. The striking blue of the male Booby’s feet play a big part in the mating rituals. The bluer your feet the better chance you have with the ladies. Much like humans, Boobies are usually monogamous, but there are exceptions ( some males have multiple partners). The male struts about trying to make himself as desirable as possible although his efforts are not always rewarded, as the Boobies breed when then the opportunity presents itself, not seasonally like most birds.

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The bright blue of the feet definitely brings the old Carl Perkins song “Blue Suede Shoes” to mind.

Incubation

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The female Booby lays 2-3 eggs on bare rock ( usually only 1-2 hatch ) and for the next 45 days both parents take turns sitting on the eggs and keeping them warm with their feet. Babies are fed regurgitated fish by both parents and must be fed frequently. If there is not enough food to go around, the parents will begin feeding only the largest or strongest chick, making sure that at least one of their babies survives.

Baby Boobies

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Just as they share the responsibilities of sitting on the eggs, Boobies also share the feeding of their young once they are hatched. Because the male Booby is smaller than the female, he  is better able to fish in the shallow waters closer to shore, allowing him to return to the young Boobies with food more quickly. He usually feed the babies in the beginning. The female however is larger and carry more food, so she does the torpedo diving in deeper waters when the babies are older and require more food.

Fishing

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The Blue Footed Booby feeds entirely on schools of fish such as sardines, and mackerel, but they also enjoy squid. Hunting for fish is almost never done alone. Large groups of Boobies soar above the ocean in search of large schools of tiny fish. When an adequate school is spotted, the Boobies dive from heights of up to 300ft straight into the water to retrieve the fish. They descend like dive bombers into the water, at speeds up to 60 mph, reaching depths of up to 80 ft where they devour the fish before coming back to the surface of the water.