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Bird watching in the Galapagos
unlike elsewhere in the world poses few problems as there are only
about 60 resident species of which 13 are finches and many of the
others are distinctive and easily recognised such as the Blue Footed
Booby.
These really have to be one of the
most remarkable birds in the world with their almost unreal large
sky-blue feet and a mating dance which entails lifting the feet in a
very solemn manner, one at a time showing them off to the
prospective mate. Their name comes from the Spanish "bobo" meaning
clown or fool, the connection is easy to make when seeing them in
their mating display.
Like many other birds though, once
away from the ground and in their natural element, flying through
the air, they become far more elegant and certainly not clown-like.
They feed on fish which they usually catch inshore often in
impressively large flocks. They catch fish by a power-dive starting
as high as 15m and sometimes accelerated downwards by flapping the
wings before sweeping the wings backwards on entry into the water in
a deadly dart-shape.
Breeding takes place whenever food is
abundant rather than being seasonal, up to three eggs are laid with
the smaller younger chicks serving as food for the largest if the
parentally provided food supply starts to run short.
Blue Footed Boobies are found
breeding on many islands around and south of the equator, though the
Galapagos Islands have about 75% of the world's population.
Picture courtesy NOAA |
