Red-Footed Booby

By Karey Fuhs

The Red-footed Booby (Sula sula websteri, piquero de patas rojas) can be easily identified by its distinctive red feet, blue-gray bill, pinkish facial skin, and brown outer plumage. It is also the smallest of the three booby species in the Galapagos and nests in tree-tops and ledges, instead of on the ground.

Courtship among red-footed boobies is similar to the blue-footed variety, but it is performed in the trees. Unlike the blue-footed booby, the red-footed booby lays a single egg on a platform of twigs and guano. The egg is then incubated by both parents for 45 days. The chick is dependent on its parents for food for about a year. The red-footed booby feeds exclusively on fish, which are caught far away from land near deep-ocean bajos, or submarine volcanoes.

Red-footed boobies are most frequently viewed at Genovesa and Punta Pitt (San Cristóbal).