A seabird known for its very distinctive bright blue feet is the blue-footed booby.

“Blue-footed booby on North Seymour Island” by sooolaro is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

The blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a marine bird native to the eastern Pacific Ocean’s subtropical and tropical regions.

“Blue-footed boobies, Galápagos Islands” (cropped) by p.j.k. is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

It is one of six species known as boobies, of the genus Sula.

The feet of these birds turn blue as they grow older, this is known as a secondary sex trait used to attract male birds in courtship behavior.

“Blue-footed Booby – Galapagos_Image15” by fveronesi1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The name of this bird, ‘booby,’ comes from the Spanish word ‘bobo,’ meaning foolish, and refers to this species’ clumsiness on land, along with their willingness to approach people.

“Blue footed booby IMG_5943” by TerryGeorge. is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

In a somewhat elaborated mating ritual, the males show off their eye-popping feet while strutting against a female to elicit interest.

“Blue Footed Booby Love” by D. Scott Taylor is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

The female is slightly larger than the male and, with a wingspan of up to 1.5 m (5 ft), can measure up to 90 cm (35 in) long.

“Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii)” (cropped) by Sylvère Corre is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

These boobies live off Central and South America’s West Coasts.

“Blue-Footed Booby” by szeke is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The population of the Galápagos Islands comprises about half of all Blue-footed Boobies breeding pairs.

“Sula nebouxii (blue-footed booby) nesting on North Seymour Island” by twiga_swala is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Its diet mainly consists of fish, which it obtains by diving and sometimes swimming underwater in search of its prey.

“Ecuador. Galapagos, Isabela Island. Blue footed boobies.” by Anne & David (Use Albums) is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

The blue-footed booby usually lays one to three eggs at a time. The species practices asynchronous hatching, in contrast to many other species whereby incubation begins when the last egg is laid and all chicks hatch together. This results in a growth inequality and size disparity between siblings, leading to facultative siblicide in times of food scarcity.

“Mother and Baby Blue Footed Booby” by helixblue is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Concerns of a decline in the booby population of the Galápagos Islands prompted a research project in its cause. The project, completed in April 2014, confirmed the population decline. The blue-footed booby population appears to be having trouble breeding, thus is slowly declining. The decline is feared to be long-term, but annual data collection is needed for a firm conclusion that this is not a normal fluctuation.

“Blue Footed Booby” by Scott Ableman is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Watch this bird right here in the video below: