What Is It About Blue-Footed Boobies?
Foot Fetish for Females of Blue-Footed Boobies
Do looks count? You can bet it does when it comes to the seabirds known as blue-footed boobies! The color of their feet helps determine which male will be preferred over another when it comes to mating with a female. The female will always pick a male with the most colorful feet. Scientists have studied this and have determined this to be factual.
The more vivid colors in these webbed feet is a good indicator of the overall health of the birds. Just as humans often start losing pigment in their hair as they age with it turning to grey or white, the blue-footed boobies gradually start losing coloration in their feet. Thus the younger, heartier, and healthier genes are passed on to the next generation by the females choosing the most vividly pigmented feet of their male suitors.
Unlike humans who sometimes mask their actual hair color sadly for these birds, there are no salons in the wild which can artificially tint a male blue-footed booby's feet back to its more saturated coloration.
Do male blue-footed bobbies flaunt this fact? Yes indeed!
Courtship of These Birds
They flip their feet up and down and dance in front of females showing off their pretty feet when they are in a courting mode. If they were human, blue-footed boobies would be like the famed dancer Fred Astaire all decked out wearing blue colored shoes!
They are fascinating birds to be sure. Many of them are in the Galapagos Islands, and they range from the Gulf of California on down to Peru.
Favorite Fish is The Sardine
These seabirds can dive from great heights, and they seek out schools of fish where they consume them while still underwater. Their favorite fish to dine upon is the sardine. I don't blame them! Sardines can be tasty food, especially if acquired fresh.
If you have only ever eaten sardines in those little tinned cans, do yourself a favor and try to find some fresh ones to eat. My hubby and I got to eat sardines in Spain and remember it with gustatory pleasure. The ones we tasted were lightly cooked and dressed with a light lemony vinaigrette and fresh herbs. They were delicious! I am sure that many different cooking methods would be equally tasty. Lightly grilling fresh sardines would be fantastic.
Our friendly birds need no unique cooking methods to make them happy. Just scooping sardines up fresh right out of the ocean is all they require. Sardines are often known to swim in schools, so when locating them, our colorful footed birds are undoubtedly sated in a short amount of time.
Egg Laying Habits of These Birds
One interesting thing about how these birds produce offspring is in their laying of eggs. A span of about five days can be the interval between egg-laying for Blue-footed boobies.
The average number of eggs laid by blue-footed boobies are two. The oldest egg hatches first in this type of scenario. Typically since it is the biggest and strongest of the chicks, it often gets the most of the regurgitated food from the parent birds.
Sometimes the older chick kills the younger ones. Talk about sibling rivalry! The more immature birds are very mismatched in this type of encounter. The parent birds do not interfere in this rivalry between the chicks. Often the older chick is fed first by the parent bird.
Natural selection relating to Darwin's theory of evolution would seem to be more of random luck in this case. That first egg most often wins the lottery concerning survival long term. The others do not fare as well.
Egg Laying and Incubation Practices of Other Birds
Quite a few birds lay their eggs, not all at the same time from what I learned. However, some (as in the case of the American Robin for example) do not start incubating the eggs until the entire clutch is laid.
Some birds start incubating after the first or second egg is laid thereby having the chicks hatching at different intervals such as is the case with blue-footed boobies.
Egg Laying Practices of Some Other Birds
Type of Bird
| Eggs laid how many days apart
|
---|---|
Eagles
| 3 days
|
Ospreys
| 1 to 3 days
|
Hummingbirds
| 1 to 3 days
|
American Robin
| 1 day
|
Did you know about the different egg laying practices of birds?
Were you familiar with the birds called Blue-Footed Boobies?
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2016 Peggy Woods
Comments
I agree with Scott S. Bateman; it's interesting that these birds' blue feet are part of their mating ritual. There are a lot of interesting, and sometimes strange, things in this world.
There is a person on this site who wrote about blue people that live somewhere in the Carolinas I think. I don't remember all the details, but I was surprised to learn they are real people and they're blue!
This is an excellent article as usual and I enjoyed reviewing it again. Posting it to AH & FB.
Hope you and you husband will have a joyous, peaceful Christmas!
What a surprising and interesting article. I had no idea blue-footed boobies existed, and I watch quite a few nature shows. It's fascinating how they use the color of their feet as part of their mating rituals.
This hub made me laugh because, for some strange reason, my friend Ken, from Chicago, has a weird obsession with the Blue Footed Boobie. He talks about them all the time. For no understandable reason. I suspect he thinks the name is funny and so now it has become a habit of his to say. Odd guy.
They look quirky and a bit cumbersome somehow but I like them I think Peggy
Hi this is very interesting :) It's my first time knowing about a bird with blue feet. Thanks for sharing :) Beautiful bird :)
Extremely interesting information about the blue footed booby. I wasn't aware of the existence of this bird and very interesting to learn that the stronger color of the feet raises the chances of getting selected as a mate.
Lovely bird for sure.
Hi Peggy...I have to chuckle each time I see the title...and those feet...are they glorious!!!
Just wanted to stop and visit for a second. We are having spring weather right now...my sister in Austin said they have had some unusually cold weather there recently...she even had some outside pipes burst ....
Take care of you and yours. Angels are on the way to you ps
Peggy, this was an interesting hub. It's so amazing to know about those beautiful birds. Those birds are interesting creatures. Nice photo! Thanks for sharing.
What is it about the Blue Footed Boobies
Does your sweetie have blue feet?
I think that is really neat
Where the female has a fetish about blue footed boobies
Walking a beat
And strutting their stuff with the bluest of feet
I have pretty little feet
But they are not blue
And I don’t like sardines
Or else I would do
What the Blue Footed Boobies do..
It is interesting how with the Blue-footed Booby the brighter feet is the mating advantage and older males are not favored.
I just learned about these Blue Footed birds weeks ago on Facebook. Someone posted a photo and I shared it, and a commenter on my post informed one of what these fun little creature are called. So! I watched some videos on YouTube about them and thoroughly enjoy the time spent. And, here you are Peggy, giving of your time to future my education, (I know it wasn't just for me;). Love your hub, and will be sharing.
I submitted article to other site. I just submitted 2 articles to Hub Pages so far and this morning they are not published. You commented on the article about "Old Miniature Dog Breeds" which I appreciated and it is now in need of corrections. I do not know what is going on. My article about Heartworm Disease has been out there for a few days and I keep having to correct it. I am beginning to think my articles are not good enough for Hub Pages and I am wasting my time and theirs.
Great article. Beautiful pictures. I once wrote an article about the blue footed boobie but I did not have all the beautiful pictures. Thanks for the great article.
I have never seen these that I recall! So adorable and what a great fact that these females can judge prettiest!
Sharing.
Check to see if my comment got put into spam. I know that I made one, and I think I asked if you'd ever heard of the Red-footed Booby. This article gave me more information on a very unusual bird.
Hi Peggy. I've been away from HP for a bit due to work. Blue-footed Boobies...what a great moniker for these darling birds. From their courtship to the caring for their young, these little critters are adorable. Thanks so much for sharing, and for helping us to learn more about the Boobies. The photos are beautiful!
One day, I hope to see one of these unusual birds. Did you know that there is also a Red-footed Booby?
Very interesting. Enjoyed your video regarding infidelity. :) A shame the chick from the second egg probably doesn't make it most of the time. I had seen these birds before but never learned so much about them as from this article. Sharing this very informative article with my followers and pinning to Awesome HubPages.
Hope you are well. We are to have severe storms tomorrow afternoon and our temps are now in the 80s. Take care . . .
These are some very interesting facts about these wide ranging Sea birds and what makes their colourful webbed foot so special. I have not seen these beautiful creatures but would love to.
Nicely presented with lovely pictures. Enjoyed the video as well. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this interesting and informative hub, Peggy. I love the photos. Those blue feet certainly stand out! I'd love to see a blue-footed booby in real life.
Peggy W I still don't know why I look forward to your hubs.. when I see an email float my way.. Fun.. no dramatics.. educational and entertaining.. you are a great hubber.. shared..:) Frank
What a great title! It really drew me in, then the hub delivered. Those boobies (snicker) have beautiful feet and know how to use them. I thought of Elvis and his blue suede shoes. Shame on them for their murderous habits though.
I have always been fascinated by the Blue-footed Booby and their colorful webbed feet. Would love to someday travel to the Galápagos Islands to see them first hand. Great hub, very interesting and educational.
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