Blue-footed Booby: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Seabirds · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. A booby's blue feet are a health billboard. Birds deprived of food for 48 hours had duller feet.
2. A booby dives like a missile, hitting the sea at about 97 km/h and plunging as deep as 25 m.
3. Air sacs in its skull cushion the brain during a dive. Its nostrils stay shut, so it breathes through the corners of its mouth.
4. A female lays two or three eggs, four to five days apart, so the first chick hatches four days before the next.
5. Boobies have no brood patch, so they warm their eggs with their feet. Both parents take turns, for 41 to 45 days.

The quiz

1. How long were birds food-deprived when their feet got duller?

• 48 hours (correct)
• 4 hours
• 12 days
• 1 week

After 48 hours without food, foot brightness dropped.

2. How fast does a diving booby hit the sea?

• About 9 km/h
• About 97 km/h (correct)
• About 30 km/h
• About 300 km/h

It hits the sea at about 97 km/h.

3. How does a diving booby breathe underwater?

• Through its nostrils
• Through its feet
• Through the corners of its mouth (correct)
• It does not breathe at all

Its nostrils stay shut, so it breathes through the corners of its mouth.

4. How many days before the next chick does the first one hatch?

• One day
• Eight days
• Two weeks
• Four days (correct)

The first chick hatches four days before the next.

5. What do boobies use to keep their eggs warm?

• A brooding patch
• A mud nest
• Warm sand
• Their feet (correct)

Boobies keep their eggs warm with their feet.

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