Wild Fact #782 – Calling this Bird “Stupid” Makes them Blue – Blue-Footed Boobie
Photo by Tim Laman
Today’s Wild Fact was suggested by my brother, Clayton. Thanks buddy for recommending such an awesome bird. So what bird are we looking at today? Well my friend we are going to explore the world of the Blue-Footed Boobie which as you can see are aptly named after their bright blue feet. The Blue-Footed Boobie can be found in Central and South America with half of the breeding pairs located on the Galapagos Islands. As if I needed another reason to check out the birthplace of evolution.
Believe it or not the blue feet are actually a status symbol. The males with the brightest feet are the most attractive. During courtship the males will show off their feet with a nice little strut. The feet aren’t just for fashion as they play an important role during the brooding period. These birds will use their feet to keep their eggs warm until they hatch. Once the one to three babies are born, both parents will take care of them. Awww, one big, happy, blue-footed, family.
Incubating the Eggs. Photo By RJ Hall
With so much emphasis put on these birds feet, I find it funny that they are incredibly clumsy and awkward looking on land. For this reason they usually only come to nest on land at night. Once that sun rises these birds hit the sky for some exciting hunting. Their food of choice just happens to be fish and will fly out to sea in order to find large schools. Once they spot their prey the dive is on. The Blue-Footed Boobie is an exceptional diver and will often plunge into the ocean from heights as high as 24 m (80′). I guess they wouldn’t have a problem jumping off the high diving board at the local pool.
Blue-Footed Boobie Fast Fact: The term “Boobie” is believed to come from the Spanish word “bobo”. In English this term means “Stupid”. Not the nicest name for these animals and it is believed they received this name for their lack of grace on land.
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June 24th, 2010 at 8:42 AM
Not everyone can dive like those birds and their blue feet – looks like someone went overboard with their paints….BTW – blue nail colors seem to be the IN thing these days. Have come across many ladies with blue nail polish.
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Nathan Reply:
June 27th, 2010 at 3:58 PM
hahaha Agapelife! It does look like they fell into a big can of paint doesn’t it. At least they are setting some trends although I am not sure if I want to see a blue nail polish trend.
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