The males may throw up their heads and whistle at a passing, flying female. Blue-footed boobies communicate with the help of raucous or polysyllabic grunts or shouts and thin whistling noises. The female is larger and can carry more food. The male is smaller and has a proportionally larger tail, which enables the male to fish in shallow areas and deep waters. Males and females fish differently, which may contribute to why blue-foots, unlike other boobies, raise more than one young. Individuals prefer to eat on their own instead of with their hunting group, usually in the early morning or late afternoon. Prey is usually eaten while the birds are still under the water. When the lead bird sees a fish shoal in the water, it signals to the rest of the group, and they all dive in unison, pointing their bodies down like arrows. Boobies travel in parties of about 12 to areas of water with large schools of small fish. They can hunt singly, in pairs, or in larger flocks. They hunt by diving into the ocean after prey, sometimes from a great height, and can also swim underwater in pursuit of their prey. Males and younger birds have lighter feet than females.īlue-footed boobies are active during the day and outside of the breeding season spend all their time in the water. Its most notable characteristic is its blue-colored feet, which can range in color from pale turquoise to deep aquamarine. Since the Blue-footed booby preys on fish by diving headlong into the water, its nostrils are permanently closed, and it has to breathe through the corners of its mouth. The subspecies that breeds on the Galápagos Islands is larger than the nominate subspecies and has lighter plumage, especially around the neck and head. Blue-footed booby chicks have black beaks and feet and are clad in a layer of soft white down. Its eyes are a distinctive yellow, with the male having more yellow in its irises than the female. Its eyes are placed on either side of its bill and oriented towards the front, enabling excellent binocular vision. The neck and head are light brown with white streaks, while the belly and underside exhibit pure white plumage. The wings of the Blue-footed booby are long, pointed, and brown in color.
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