Galápagos Blue-footed Booby

The aptly-named blue-footed booby, known scientifically as Sula nebouxii, can be found all along the Eastern Pacific coastline and is hard to miss. With a clownlike walk due to its overly large bright blue feet, the booby was named after the Spanish word 'bobo' translating to 'clown'.

Blue-footed boobies, despite their clumsy movement on land, are extremely smooth in the air. Feeding on small fish such as anchovies and sardines, these distinctive birds streamline themselves by folding back their wings and darting into the water from up to 20 meters in the air. 

These unique birds mate for life, living to an average age of 17 year old, and share the parenting role by taking turns to keep their eggs warm with their large feet.

Blue-footed boobies inhabit many of the islands in the Galápagos, but North Seymour is considered one of the best spots to see them as a popular breeding ground for various seabirds. 

Boobies are true seabirds so spend most of their time on the open ocean. Following a yearly mating cycle, they come inland from April and exhibit their elaborate courtship rituals -  the male presents a gift to the female then side-steps around her showing off his impressive feet.

The best way to see the blue-footed booby is on a cruise that includes a visit to North Seymour Island. This will guarantee some great birdwatching opportunities as you will be able to get off the boat and watch the birds up close.

Blue-footed boobies are not a cause for concern as they are not an endangered species, however, as with all wildlife, they do face some threats.

Threats

• Booby numbers have dramatically declined in the last 60 years. It is thought to be due to a decline in the clupeid fish family, which boobies require in large quantities, as a result of El Niño events. This reduction of resources seems to greatly reduce blue-footed boobies' rate of reproduction.
• There is a possibility that boobies are being affected by plastic pollution in the sea.

Conservation Efforts

• Various 'Friends of Galápagos Organizations' are looking into the cause of declining numbers in the blue-footed booby population.  
• Organizations are working to address the plastic pollution issue that is affecting most marine wildlife in the Galápagos Islands.