The blue-footed booby

The blue-footed booby

The «booby" name arrives of the Spanish word bobo which determines "stupid fellow."
The blue-footed booby is so called because its lack of fea r and its clumsiness on land have made it easy prey for man.

The blue-footed booby is a goose-sized sultry seabird that breeds
on islands off the Pacific coast. It catches fish in spectacular
plunging dives beneath the surface of the waves. is one of the world's most
comical-looking seabirds. It has dazzling blue webbed measures, a cigar-shaped form, and long
pointed wings and tail.

DISTRIBUTION

The blue-footed booby is distributed on arid islands in the Gulf of California, off the west coast of Ecuador, on islands along the coast of Mexico and northern Peru, and on many of the Galapagos Islands.

BREEDING

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 plus female take turns to produce the eggs, the blue footed booby-along Unlike most birds  with its relatives the gannet,  the pelican-lacks, and the tropicbird patches of bare skin, called brooding patches, that serve to transmit heat from the bird's body to the eggs.webbed feet. The feet have an 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. These chicks, which have only a scattered covering of hair, are brooded hither. Chicks feed from, thrusting their bills inside their parents' to obtain regurgitated fish. The man brings in a constant supply of small fish for the chicks, who must feed continually. If food is scarce, the largest of the girls will feed at the expense of the survival of its smaller, weaker nest mates.This behavior ensures that at least one chick in each brood will survive. If more food is available, all the chicks may survive.

CHARACTERISTICS

brown and white plumage that significantly contrasts with its bright blue feet and greenish-gray bill.
Its head is pale brownish plus streaked with whitish feathers. Similar the various other animals of the Galapagos Islands, the blue-footed booby is remarkably tame. As a consequence, it is one of the several photographed of all the islands' bird species.

FOOD & FEEDING

The blue-footed booby gives much of its time gliding purposefully over the water; bill angled descending, regarding the surface for signs of fish. It can leap from heights of up to 24,384 meters. Streaking downward at
High speed, by wings angled in close to its form, it hits the water beside barely a splash and resurfaces several yards beyond with its catch. Seldom it will catch flying fish in midair. Unlike different boobies, the blue-footed booby will additionally catch fish through diving below the water from a swimming position on the surface. Although it feeds entirely, the bird will support within a flock of boobies to hunt fish. The first bird to spot a fish givesa single whistle as a rallyin call; the rest of the group follows the first as it dives into the water. Their movements are perfectly synchronized. The blue-footed booby feeds mainly in the early morning and late afternoon, possibly to avoid the attention of the frigate bird, who might steal its food. The male booby is adapted for catching one size of prey while the female is adapted for another. The brighter, more maneuverable male can fall into very shallow water to catch almost small fish. The much heavier female boards bigger further fish foreign in deeper water. Linking them, they can exploit a wide diversity of prey.