Blue-footed Booby Sula nebouxii
The blue-footed booby is one of six species of plunge-diving birds, closely related to gannets, that often have brightly colored feet. The blue-footed booby is brown with white under-sides. Its feet are grayish brown in juveniles but brilliant turquoise-blue in adults. Blue-footed boobies often feed in flocks, hitting the water almost simultaneously when they locate a shoal of fish. Smaller than gannets, they are able to fish closer inshore, sometimes diving into water less than 3 ft (1 m) deep. Blue-footed boobies nest in small colonies on offshore islands, laying their eggs on the ground.
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- Order Pelecaniformes
- Length 30–33 in (76–84 cm)
- Weight 2–4 lb (1.5–2 kg)
- Habitat Inshore waters, rocky coasts, islands
- Distribution Pacific coast of Central America, Galápagos Islands
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