Blue-footed booby

Blue-footed boobies live by the warm Pacific Ocean.

They nest on dry, rocky islands. Many live on the Galápagos Islands.

Blue-footed boobies live along the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, from Mexico's Gulf of California south through Central America to Peru, and on the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador.

They are true seabirds: they live only by the sea and spend most of their lives near the coast. They nest on dry, rocky islands with few plants, and they rest on rocks and almost any object near the water. A few wander north to Southern California.

The IUCN's global assessment lists the species as resident in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador (Galápagos) and Peru, with vagrants in Chile and the United States. Cornell notes that birds dispersing from the Gulf of California sometimes reach coastal Southern California and the inland Salton Sea.

The species is strictly marine but mostly coastal rather than pelagic. Breeding colonies are on arid, rocky islands with little vegetation, and the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan estimates about 90,000 birds breeding in the Gulf of California.

Blue-footed boobies eat fish and squid.

They fly high, then dive into the sea. Splash! They grab a fish and pop back up.

Blue-footed boobies eat mostly fish and squid, especially small fish such as anchovies, sardines, mackerel and flying fish. They hunt during the day.

A booby dives into the sea from as high as about 24 meters. Most dives go about 4.5 meters deep, but some reach about 20 meters. It often grabs its fish on the way back up. Sometimes hundreds of boobies dive into a school of fish at once.

The diet is mostly fish and squid, with anchovies, sardines, mackerel and flying fish prominent. Cornell reports plunge dives from up to 80 feet (about 24 meters) to depths of up to 65 feet (about 20 meters), though about 15 feet (4.5 meters) is more typical. Birds often seize prey while rising, and can also swim underwater using their wings.

The larger females take larger fish on average and can dive more deeply than males. Even when taking discards from fishing boats, boobies usually dive beneath the food and snap it up on the way up.

To find a partner, a booby does a funny dance.

It lifts up one blue foot, then the other. It points its bill at the sky and whistles.

The blue-footed booby is famous for its courtship dance. A male lands near his nest spot with his blue feet spread out to show them off. Then he struts around, lifting each foot high, one after the other.

Both birds point their bills toward the sky. The male gives a whistle, and the female answers with a groaning call. Females show off their feet too, and each bird seems to prefer a partner with brighter feet.

Courtship centers on the feet. Males defend a small territory, land with their feet spread against their pale bellies and march with exaggerated high steps; they may also present nest material and make courtship flights. Both birds sky-point, the male whistling and the female groaning, according to Animal Diversity Web.

Mate choice runs both ways: males seem to prefer females with brighter feet, and females brighter males. Pairs choose the nest site together within the male's territory and sleep together at the nest.

There are many blue-footed boobies.

But their numbers are going down a little. In the Galápagos Islands, they are protected.

The blue-footed booby is listed as Least Concern because it has a large population and a very large range. Scientists estimate there are about 90,000 adults, but the number seems to be going down.

In the Galápagos Islands boobies are protected, and their numbers there go up and down from year to year but have stayed steady over the long term. Like many seabirds, they may be harmed as ocean water becomes warmer and more acidic and their food changes.

The IUCN's global assessment (assessed 2020, published 2021) lists Sula nebouxii as Least Concern, with about 90,000 mature individuals and a decreasing trend. Partners in Flight places it on its Yellow Watch List for declining populations.

Cornell notes that Galápagos populations are protected and fluctuate but have been stable over the long term, and that, as with many seabirds, warming and acidifying waters may affect the ocean food webs on which boobies depend.