Bird Album
Blue-footed Booby
Sula nebouxii Milne-Edwards, 1882
81 cmLength1.5 kgWeight
The male has bright blue feet that it raises to display to the female during courtship.
Most records: United States, Ecuador, Mexico
How to identify
Field marks
- Feet pale blue-green to deep aqua-blue
- Wings rufous, long and pointed
- Head and neck pale rufous with white stripes
- Belly and underparts pure white
Male, female and young
Female slightly larger than male.
Where and when it's recorded
Most records: United States, Ecuador, Mexico
Blue-footed Booby has been recorded at 47 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 8 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States1,427 records
- Española – Punta SuárezEcuador1,312 records
- Isla PucusanaPeru436 records
More places
- Laguna San PanchoMexico317 records
- Patagonia Lake State ParkUnited States165 records
- Boca de TomatesMexico149 records
- Ayampe – Estuario del río AyampeEcuador104 records
- Playa YelapaMexico78 records
- Salinas – Lagunas de EcuasalEcuador76 records
- Peck Rd. Water Conservation ParkUnited States75 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a species of marine bird in the family Sulidae. The species, native to subtropical and tropical regions of the eastern Pacific Ocean, is one of six species of the genus Sula, commonly known as boobies. It is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue feet, which is a sexually selected trait and a product of its diet.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Blue-footed Booby?
The Blue-footed Booby is about 81 cm long and weighs around 1.5 kg.
Where does the Blue-footed Booby live?
Its breeding range: Pacific Ocean: east-central subtropical and tropical Pacific coast islands patchily from Gulf of California to northwestern Peru. It is most often recorded in United States, Ecuador and Mexico.
Is the Blue-footed Booby endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Blue-footed Booby as Least Concern.
What does the Blue-footed Booby eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Blue-footed Booby in?
It belongs to the family Gannets, Boobies (Sulidae), order Suliformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 81 cm
- Weight
- 1.5 kg
- Habitat
- Ocean
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Feeds in the air
- Migration
- Partial migrant
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 410 mm
- Tail
- 212 mm
- Bill
- 100 mm
- Tarsus
- 52 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Pacific Ocean: east-central subtropical and tropical Pacific coast islands patchily from Gulf of California to northwestern Peru
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Suliformes
- Family
- Gannets, Boobies Sulidae
- Genus
- Sula
Other birds in the genus Sula
Red-footed BoobySula sula
Brown BoobySula leucogaster
Cocos BoobySula brewsteri
Masked BoobySula dactylatra
Nazca BoobySula granti
Peruvian BoobySula variegata
Abbott's BoobyPapasula abbotti
Northern GannetMorus bassanus
Cape GannetMorus capensis
Australasian GannetMorus serrator
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by William Stephens. ↗
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