Awesome Nature #23

Blue-Footed Booby
Type: Bird  Lives In: Eastern Pacific  Conservation Status: Least Concern

I guess it's not hard to work out why so many people have heard of this particular flapper (and no, it's not because of the blue feet)! It's quite an interesting creature though. They are much bigger than most people think, for one thing, reaching up to about 90cm with a wingspan of 1.5m. As might be obvious from its appearance, it's a marine bird, living in the Eastern Pacific from about Northern Mexico down to Peru, and only ventures onto land to breed, and that's what the bright blue feet are for. Only the males have them and they display them in a strange dance to attract a female. It must work too, as there are tons of them! I'm not sure why just the blue-booted variety is well known though, as there are several other types of booby (no, not making a joke about the more commonly-appreciated type of boobies!) including the more widespread red-footed booby. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the name comes from the Spanish word 'bobo' which means 'foolish', or 'clown' since they are clumsy on land!

Why It Is Awesome: Booby