authorBlue-footed boobies are a unique marine bird, native to the Pacific Ocean area, off the western coasts of Central and South America. Their habitat includes the Galapagos islands, where nearly half of all of the blue-footed booby breeding pairs live.
The Galapagos, once explored and chronicled for research by famed scientist Charles Darwin, is an archipelago of about 19 islands and many smaller islets located 620 miles off Ecuador’s coast in the Pacific Ocean. Designated as a World Heritage Site, both the land and sea areas of the island group are protected. Because of this protection, many unique species of wildlife thrive there.
In addition to seals, turtles, and tons of other species, visitors to these protected islands may have the chance to see the blue-footed booby in action. A marine bird, the diet of the blue-footed booby, consists mainly of fish. Since birds fly in the air and don’t live underwater, this means they have to dive for their food.
Watching a blue-footed booby dive for their meals is pretty impressive. Because they’re efficient hunters, they usually make quick, shallow dives, snatching up the fish that are closest to the surface and easiest to catch. But, when they need to, they can dive deeper than 65 feet (20m) and for longer than 30 seconds, to catch their prey.
In the video below, The Galapagos Conservation Trust captured rare footage of an entire flock of these birds diving for their dinner. It’s pretty impressive, as a large group of birds plunges themselves into the water from a great height — about 330 feet! They pick up a lot of speed on the way down and then glide under the water’s surface to snatch up their dinner.
Watch these amazing birds in the video below and please like and share!
