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Boobies: there’s more than one!

These birds live on the Galapagos Islands and get their names from the Spanish “bobo” meaning stupid. Apparently these birds are very friendly and unassuming around humans, and were given that nickname as a bit of a joke.

Blue-footed boobies get their colorful feet from the carotenoid pigments in fish they eat. It’s also a sexually selected trait, meaning that the boobies with the bluest feet get the ladies. As part of the mating ritual the male birds lift their feet up really high to show them off and do a little march. If the female likes it, she starts to march with him!

A blue footed booby with bright blue feet stares into the camera. They have a white body with brown wings and tail. The top of the head is a mottled brown and they have a light green eyes and a grey-blue beak. The feet are a bright, nearly teal blue. Photo copyright Atonio Busiello / WWF-US.

But there’s another booby! A red-footed one this time. Red-footed boobies have a wider diet that include squid and other wildlife, not just the fish that the Blue-footed boobies eat. It’s likely that they evolved an evolutionary niche to eat different food and not compete with one another. That being said, the red feet of these birds also come from their diet.

A red-footed booby sits on a branch. They are mostly white with black stripes on the bottom of their wings. They beaks are a light blue fading into lavender, with a blue ring around their eyes. Their feet are a bright, vivid red. Photo by Wang HC.

Horned screamer: I guffawed at this one

What an absolutely bizarre bird. In my opinion what this bird lacks in attractiveness it makes up for in sheer oddity. These birds actually do have a long, thin horn made of keratin that’s loosely attached to their skull. Because it’s so long and thin, the tip of the horn often breaks off. In addition to the horn, they have hard wing spurs on the tip of their wings, which can be used for fighting. They’re called screamers because of their extremely loud (and weird) vocalizations. The bird is about 3.5 feet (94cm) tall with a 5.5 foot (170cm) wingspan!

A Horned Screamer against a black background. On the head is a white, curved “horn”. The head and neck feathers are a mottled blakc and white, with the face completely black. The bird has orange eyes and a mostly black body. The feet have really long toes with long claws.

Tufted tit-tyrant: I know, right?

The last one for the day is the Tufted tit-tyrant. I MEAN LOOK AT HIM. We learned yesterday that “tit” is just another word for small bird. You can see why this little buddy is called tufted, I mean he just poofs right in front of you. But he’s called a tit-tyrant basically because he’s mean as hell. These little birds are highly territorial and aggressive against other tit-tyrants. Locally, these birds are often called “torito” meaning “little bull” because of the way the feathers on their head stick up like little horns. And maybe because of their tiny tempers, too!

A tufted tit-tyrant sits on a leafy branch. These birds are very small and have a light grey and white mottled feather pattern that starts to look like stripes as it goes down the body of the bird. The belly is a very faint yellow. The feathers on the top of the head are disheveled, making the bird look perpetually like he was just woken from a nap and he’s not happy about it. Their eyes are a very pale yellow. Even from the picture, you can tell this bird has attitude, but he’s so tiny it just makes the rage that much cuter. Photo copyright Nathan Wall.

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