The blue-footed booby is a marine bird native to subtropical and tropical regions of the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue feet. The name booby comes from the Spanish word bobo (“stupid”, “foolish”, or “clown”) because the blue-footed booby is, like other seabirds, clumsy on land. They are also regarded as foolish for their apparent fearlessness of humans.
The blue-footed booby is monogamous, although it has the potential to be bigamous. The courtship of the blue-footed booby consists of the male flaunting his blue feet and dancing to impress the female. The male begins by showing his feet, strutting in front of the female. Then, he presents nest materials and finishes the mating ritual with a final display of his feet. The dance also includes “sky-pointing”, which involves the male pointing his head and bill up to the sky while keeping the wings and tail raised.
The female blue-footed booby lays two or three eggs. Eggs are laid about four to five days apart. Both male and female take turns incubating the eggs, while the non-sitting bird keeps watch. Since the blue-footed booby does not have a brooding patch, it uses its feet to keep the eggs warm. The incubation period is 41–45 days. Usually, one to two chicks are hatched from the two to three eggs originally laid. The male and female share parental responsibilities.
The blue-footed booby has been observed in the great state of Texas.
