Blue-footed booby: habitat, description, photo

Blue-legged gannet is a funny bird with sky-blue paws. It belongs to the family of gannets and lives mainly near the tropical seas.

origin of name

The origin of the name of the gannet is quite interesting. In English it sounds like a booby, and comes from the Spanish bobo. Translate this word as a "clown", "fool" or "fool". This name of the bird is explained by the fact that on land it behaves rather clumsily. However, like most seabirds, which spend a significant part of their lives in the air or at sea. However, this is not the only reason. Man is not a source of fear for such a species of birds as the blue-footed booby. The photos taken during their research convincingly prove that the boobies are not afraid of contact with people. And this, as you know, is not always safe.

Spread

Blue-legged gannet is found exclusively along the shores of the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. Its habitat is the coast of the Gulf of California, the western coast of South and Central America, Mexico and Peru. In total there are about 40 thousand pairs of these unusual birds in the world. The Galapagos Islands are the main place chosen by the blue-footed gannetwhale. The habitat of this species is rocks, earth and trees, although their birds use mainly to create nests. Most of the time gannetwhales spend on the sea.

In the Galapagos Islands, blue-footed boobies are protected by law. There are nests of more than 20 thousand pairs of birds.

Appearance

The main distinguishing feature of a booby is, of course, paws of a rich blue, turquoise or light blue color. At nestlings the color of the legs is very light. In length, birds reach 70-80 centimeters and weigh up to three kilograms, while females are slightly larger than males. The wingspan of these exotic birds reaches one and a half meters.

Feathering gannet brown with white. The peculiarities of its alternation are given to the blue-footed gannet "prickly appearance". The beak of this bird has a gray-green color. The bird's eyes are located on the sides of the beak, but they look forward, which ensures its good eyesight. Birds have a yellow eye color, but the iris is much brighter in males than in females. In addition, visually, their eyes appear larger due to the pigment ring, which is located around the pupils.

Breath of blue-footed boobies with the corners of the mouth, since her nostrils are always closed. This special adaptation is needed for the bird at the time of diving.

The blue-footed booby. What does this exotic bird eat?

The gannet diet consists mainly of fish. These are anchovies, sardines and mackerel, mackerel. To catch such prey, birds dive into the water to a depth of 25 meters. At the same time, they can develop speed under water up to 100 kilometers per hour. Sometimes you do not have to dive for food. Gannets can catch flying fish that move above the surface of the sea.

In addition, these birds do not refuse to eat squid or the entrails of large fish that are found near Panama.

Hunting features

A gannet can hunt alone, or in pairs or in a pack. Such flocks, most often of twelve birds, fly above the ponds where small fish are found. If the flock notices the prey, all its members simultaneously dive. They can do this from a height of several hundred meters. The gannets eat fish caught under the water, under the water.

Interesting is the fact that they catch prey not during diving, but when emerging. This is due to the fact that the back of most fish is dark and merges in color with the water column. Therefore, being at a depth, to notice them is quite difficult. The abdomen has a brighter color, besides it is distinguished by a silvery pattern. This method of hunting is much more effective.

Blue-legged gannet (kuksha), which hunts independently, never dines with the rest of the flock. They try to stay alone. Hunting for fish often occurs in the early morning or evening.

The ways of hunting male and female differ. First of all, this is due to the size of their body. Since the females are heavier, they can dive much deeper and catch bigger fish. The body of males is much lighter, so they are not able to descend to a considerable depth. However, nature has awarded them with a large tail, which helps to fish in the gorges. Thus, if the pair brings up the chicks, the male brings them food more often, but it is small in size.

Marriage dance

If one of the birds and has a special behavior in the pair, so is the blue-footed gannet. The bridal dance is performed by the male in order to attract the attention of the liked female. During his "performance" the male tries to focus his attention on his paws, because the brighter they are, the more chances to create a pair. He stretches his neck, puts out his pointed tail and in turn raises his bright paws. Performing a dance, the bird accompanies him with an impatient whistle.

After the courtship of the gentleman was accepted, the boobies bowed, after which the dance was repeated once more, but already a joint one. They raise and lower their paws, as if agreeing in this way about the construction of co-habitation. In addition, the male presents his girlfriend with a bright twig, which later goes to the arrangement of the nest. Only after this ceremony is complete.

Difficulties in choosing a partner

Scientists have proved: the brighter the color of the paws in the male, the more eggs the female can lay. Careful selection of a partner is also related to the fact that the female needs to distribute the amount of resources that will be allocated to one egg. A large number of eggs in the masonry means a smaller amount of yolk in each of them, but if the parents have good genetic data, the offspring will have more chances to survive.

However, the color of the feet is important not only during the choice of partners by females. Males also pay attention to this. A female with brighter paws is able to lay more eggs, and gannet males will show special attention to them. If in the laying eggs differ in size, the parental care will be directed to those that are larger.

In the case when the color of the paws of the individuals is the same, the birds will take good care of all the offspring, no matter what size they have.

Reproduction

A blue-footed gannet arranges its nest in small pits, which the pair tramples together in the ground. In this case, the nests of different pairs are at a considerable distance from each other. The period of nesting in the boobies lasts a whole year. Every eight months the female lays two to three eggs. Such a small amount is due to the fact that their birds warm not by the heat of their bodies, but with the help of their paws. During the mating season, the influx of blood to the limbs increases, and their temperature, respectively, rises to 39 °. Increased blood flow also contributes to swelling and compaction of the paws. The male and female sprout the offspring alternately for 45 days until the chicks appear in the light. Gannets are considered monogamous birds, but there are cases when they have several partners.

Cubs

Many birds take care of their offspring. Does this and the blue-footed boobies. Nestlings are born very small and helpless, but soon their body is covered with thick down. The first month the cubs can not control the temperature of their body. Only after a while the fluff gives way to feathers. The chicks remain in the nest for three months, and only then leave it.

To ensure the survival of the offspring, the boobies are forced to constantly hunt and bring food to them. This is often done by the male, but if the feed is small, the female can start hunting. Sometimes a couple leaves the nest together, but this behavior is quite dangerous. The natural enemies of the boobies are gulls, skuas and frigates. They destroy the nests left unattended. If the boobies lose their offspring, they begin to re-lay their eggs, but watch them more carefully.

After the youth leaves the nest, she immediately throws herself into the sea, although they can not swim or fly at that age yet. Each bird under the skin has special air sacs that do not allow the chicks to dive. Do this, they learn as their weight increases.

Sexual maturity in these tropical birds occurs at the age of 3-4 years.

Why do blueheads have blue feet

The blue color of the gannets is provided by a special pigment - a carotenoid. It is constantly produced in the organisms of the bird thanks to a diet rich in fresh sea fish. In addition, this pigment is an antioxidant and stimulates the immune system. Thus, the color of the paws of a young and healthy bird will be much brighter. If fresh blue fish disappear from the diet of blue-footed boobies, the color of its paws becomes dimmer after 48 hours. The fact is that the production of carotenoids requires a sufficient amount of lipids, the source of which is sea fish.

The unusual color of the paws plays a significant role in the period of taming. It is they who are primarily attracted by the blue-footed boobies. Why do the blue paws attract females? Bright color is a sign of good health and strong immune system of the male. As for the females of other animals, for the boobies the main thing is to get genetically healthy offspring. Therefore, she would rather choose a male with an aquamarine or blue colored paw. Males, whose paws have a gray-blue color, risk being left without a pair. With age, the color saturation of males is significantly reduced, which does not contribute to the growth of their popularity in females.

Rules of life of blue-legged gannets

1. The gannets spend most of their life in the sea. The Earth needs them only in order to nest and bring up offspring.

2. It may happen that the couple are not able to catch enough food for their offspring. In this case, the largest and strongest of the chicks is selected, and all the food that is extracted is given to him by the boobies. In this way they ensure the survival of at least one chick, so that he becomes strong enough to continue his kind.

3. Blue-legged boobies can communicate with each other. They make hoarse cries and whistles. Such communication plays an important role both during the mating season and later, when it becomes necessary to co-educate the offspring.

4. The scientist has not yet been able to establish the time during which the gannets can remain under water. Options vary from a few seconds to two minutes. The maximum depth to which they dive while hunting for fish is also unknown.

5. Modern gannets do not build full nests. They trample down a hole in the ground and fence it off with a few twigs.

6. Blue-legged boobies are one of the few birds of a kind whose families can be called "large families". Often, representatives of the genus gannet have only one chick.