Boobies, Big Ones, Small Ones, Colorful Ones.
Boobies are friendly, interesting and eye-catching things and normally live as long as 15 to 20 years. They commonly get as big as 32 to 34 inches and can boast a weight of about 3 and a half pounds per Booby, (with female Boobies being larger than male Boobies). Boobies tend to nestle off the western coasts of Central and South America, including the Galapagos Islands which are home to about half of all breeding boobies. These fellas nest on land at night and seek out food in the day, usually pertaining to seafood.
The mating season for the Booby is general from June to August and includes the Boobies performing an elaborate, extravagant, and unique mating dance which lasts for quite a while and includes many, intricate steps. When a pair of Boobies finds one another interesting, they settle down and lay about two or three eggs, taking around 45 days for hatching (during which the adult Boobies incubate the Booby embryos). Baby Boobies then hatch and stay with their parents for a couple months until they are ready to leave and fend for themselves waiting for full plumage and growth in about 2 to 3 years.
The Blue Footed Booby, yes the bird, has other relatives like the Nazca Booby and the Red Footed Booby, which is the smallest of the Boobies and nests in trees instead of on land. The birds make for excellent divers, with permanently closed nostrils and the ability of reaching speeds of up to 60mph. They also have small air sacs in their heads to act as shock absorbers towards high impact from a steep dive. For the male Blue Footed Boobies, the more blue their feet are, the more females tend to be attracted to them.
And if you’re curious about the name, it originally came from the Spanish word “Bobo” which means clown, because these birds tend to be very clumsy and comical whilst walking on land.
Nick Mulone
These birds remind me of penguins. The color, break, excellent divers, clumsy on land (although I think there are very few birds that are good divers as well as good walkers...I think it has something to do with having legs that are situated far back on the body) Do you know how closely related they are?
ReplyDeleteJoseph Starrett(3)
Those are some cool birds. Why are females more attracted to bluer males? Is it because they are more visible or is it a sign of fitness? How much time do boobies spend on land, that they can be so clumsy? Do they spend more time at sea or flying than on land?
ReplyDeleteKaitlin Jones (3)
Another fascinating creature! The intricate "dance" that the booby will perform, do the moves correspond to the health of the Booby? And a female would be able to know by how long the dance might last or how many different moves?
ReplyDeleteSunni-Lynn Farias (1)