Blue-footed Booby, Sula nebouxii
Blue-footed Booby, Sula nebouxii.
Blue-footed Booby, Sula nebouxii. Photograph taken in the greater Zihuatanejo area, Guerrero, March 2018. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuatanejo.
Blue-footed Booby, Sula nebouxii. Photograph taken in the coastal area of Yavaros, Sonora, November 2018. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.
Blue-footed Booby, Sula nebouxii. Photographs taken in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, April 2024. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California. Identifications courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
Background and Identification
The Blue-footed Booby, Sula nebouxii, is a member of the Sulidae Family of Boobies and Gannets. This distinctive seabird is easily identified by its bright blue feet, the feature that catalyzed its name. These bright blue feet play a crucial role in courtship displays during the breeding season. Their mating dance, where males display their blue feet in a high-stepping strut, is a well-known and fascinating behavior. this technique is called “foot rocking”, and is a comical spectacle to watch. Blue-footed Boobies are social birds, often seen in large colonies. They are expert divers, plunging into the water from great heights to catch fish. In Mexico, Blue-footed Boobies are called Bobo Patas Azules and Bobo Patiazul.
They are mid-sized in stature, and females are slightly larger than males. The average length of the Blue-footed Booby is 90 cm (2 feet 11 inches). Adult Blue-footed Boobies have brown upperparts, white underparts, and a pale head and neck streaked with brown. Their long, pointed wings and tapered tail are well-suited for their maritime lifestyle. The bill is sharp and grayish-blue, and their eyes are yellow with a distinctive blue ring.
Habitat and Geographical Range
Blue-footed Boobies primarily inhabit tropical and subtropical regions along the Pacific coast. They are found on islands and coastal areas where they can nest on bare ground or cliffs and often roost on rocky islets and shorelines in areas with little or no vegetation. Key habitats include rocky shores, sandy beaches, and islands with sparse vegetation. They prefer areas with abundant fish populations for feeding.
Geographically, Blue-footed Boobies are most commonly found in the Galápagos Islands, where they are a major attraction. Their range extends along the western coast of the Americas, from California and the Gulf of California in the north to Peru in the south. They are also present on other islands off the coasts of Central and South America. In Mexico, they are found in the coastal regions within the Sea of Cortez and within the Pacific Slope along the east coast of Baja and in the states of Sinaloa and Sonora always in site of the ocean.
Common Misidentifications
The Blue-footed Booby can be confused with other booby species, such as the Brown Booby, Sula leucogaster, and the Red-footed Booby, Sula sula. The Brown Booby has dark brown upper parts and a white belly, lacking the striking blue feet. The Red-footed Booby also has colorful feet, but they are usually more brownish-red in color. The Red-footed Booby also varies greatly in plumage coloration, from white to brown.
Conservation Status
From a conservation perspective, the Blue-footed Booby is categorized by the IUCN as Least Concern with stable populations in their range. Key threats to the Blue-footed Boobies include overfishing, which reduces their primary food sources, and climate change, which affects ocean temperatures and fish distribution. Human disturbance, especially from tourism in the Galápagos Islands, can also impact their breeding success. Conservation efforts focus on protecting critical nesting and feeding habitats, regulating fisheries to ensure sustainable fish populations, and managing tourism to minimize disturbance.