Blue-footed Booby

Sula nebouxii

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernFishMarineScrapeHuge · 1.5 kg

ID tip

The blue-footed booby is on average 81 cm (32 in) long and weighs 1.5 kg (3+1⁄4 lb), with the female being slightly larger than the male. Its wings are long, pointed, and brown in color. The neck and head of the blue-footed booby are light brown with white streaks, while the belly and underside exhibit pure white plumage. Its eyes are placed on either side of its bill and oriented towards the front, enabling excellent binocular vision. Its eyes are a distinctive yellow, with the male having more yellow in its irises than the female.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Blue-footed Booby

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is July, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Blue-footed Booby

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 11 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Guatemala.

About the Blue-footed Booby

The blue-footed booby is a species of marine bird in the family Sulidae. The species is native to subtropical and tropical regions of the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is one of six species of the genus Sula, commonly known as boobies. It is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue feet, which is a sexually selected trait and a product of its diet. The male displays its feet in an elaborate mating ritual by lifting them up and down while strutting before the female. Females are slightly larger than males and can measure up to 90 cm (35 in) long with a wingspan up to 1.5 m (5 ft).

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Blue-footed Booby vs Peruvian Booby · Blue-footed Booby vs Brown Booby · Blue-footed Booby vs Red-footed Booby · Blue-footed Booby vs Masked Booby · Blue-footed Booby vs Nazca Booby

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