Blue-Footed Booby Birds (from the Americas)
The blue-footed booby bird is not native to England (found from Mexico to Peru). ‘Booby’ is apparently the Spanish word for silly! But this is no silly bird, it’s a clever bird whose habitat we need to protect.
Blue is a rare colour in the animal kingdom, so you can imagine how proud this bird is of his bright blue feet! When he wants to attract a partner, he performs a mating dance, and shows off his feet. Whoever has the most blue tootsies, gets the girl!
Despite their comical appearance on land, blue-footed booby birds are skilful underwater hunters, their colour coming from the carotenoids from catching fish in their diet (just like flamingos are pink, due to eating shrimp).
They are able to dive at high speed, due to air sacs in their brains that cushion impact. Their nostrils also seal shut underwater, so they can breathe through their beaks. Isn’t nature wonderful? This is actually similar to how kingfishers work!
Chicks are born with fluffy white down and grey feet, only turning blue later on after they eat fish (presumably blue ones!). Pairs mate for life, with both parents incubating eggs by keeping them warm under their webbed feet (like penguins). They lay their eggs on bare ground, and typically only the larger chicks survive, often outcompeting younger siblings for food. Nature is sad too.
