A booby with striking blue feet that dives into the sea to catch fish.
Adults have blue webbed feet and a pale-brown head marked with dense white streaks.
Male Blue-footed Boobies display their feet during courtship. Plunge-diving for sardines, anchovies and other fish links daily life to prey availability.
From May 2011 to June 2013, a team monitored four major Galapagos breeding colonies. Breeding was limited, with 134 fledglings during the study.
Researchers proposed reduced sardine availability as a contributor to poor breeding and called for work on the underlying cause. Following prey and reproduction together helps interpret population change.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Reports from Galapagos identify low prey availability and poor breeding as conservation concerns. The 2014 study highlighted the need to follow marine food and breeding colonies together.