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 Blue-Footed Booby: The Blue Footed Booby
is a tropical seabird that lives in the Galapagos Islands, the
Gulf of California, the west coast of Mexico and along the coast
of Ecuador and northern Peru. It has beautiful blue webbed feet
and is about the size of a goose. They weigh between 3 and 4
pounds, with the female being larger than the male. They can live
to be more than 17 years old.
Red-Footed Booby: The smallest booby
grows to be 28 in (71 cm) long with a wingspan of 4-½ ft (1.37 m).
Most of the Red-Foots are all brown with the exception of red legs
and feet and a light blue bill with a red base. A small percent of
the red-foots are mistaken for masked boobies with white heads,
bodies and wings, red feet and legs, and blue beaks. Colonial in
nature the Red-Footed differs from the other boobies by making
their nests in small trees and shrubs. Colonies can be found on
Tower, Culpepper, Wenman, Gardener-near-Floreana, Punta and Isla
Pitt. They are rarely seen in areas other than where they breed.
Eggs can be found throughout the year with colonies hatching at
the same times.
Masked booby: Masked Boobies are common
in the tropics and subtropics nesting in colonies along cliffs or
at the sea edge. These are the only boobies in the Galapagos to
have an annual breeding cycle, though the cycle varies between
islands. On Tower Island most of the eggs are laid between August
and November while on Hood Island the eggs are laid from November
to February.
Flightless Cormorant: The Galapagos
flightless cormorant evolved in an isolated island environment
that was free of predators. The birds had no need to fly and
eventually became flightless. However, the Galapagos Islands have
not remained free of predators, and, consequently, this cormorant
is now one of the world’s rarest birds. Through the years, dogs,
cats, and pigs were introduced to the Islands and have had a
drastic effect on the cormorant population.
Frigate Bird: Frigate birds are a highly
specialized pelican species with exceptionally long wings and a
long forked tail to ensure plenty of control while in flight. At
more than three feet in length, the frigate has relatively small
legs and feet. Because it is unable to take off from flat ground,
it requires a running downhill start to fly. Frigates forage the
ocean for food and have been known to snatch flying fish in
midair. During mating season, the pouch of the male frigate
becomes conspicuously inflated and changes in color from orange to
a distinctly brilliant shade of red.
Brown Pelican: The brown pelican (Pelecanus
occidentalis) is found throughout the islands, skimming over the
water, plunge-diving, and resting in mangrove trees. In addition
to Galapagos, the brown pelican is found along the western coasts
of northen South America, Central America, and North America, and
throughout the Caribbean. The Galapagos population of brown
pelican is considered to be an endemic subspecies.
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Birds