Comments

  1. says

    Those boobies are awfully cute
    And to think, they’re blue-footed, to boot!
    Since you post them today
    There’s just one thing to say
    In response to these boobies… just… W00T!

  2. says

    I am taken back to Julia Sweeney’s standup routine “Letting go of God”. Cute as pie and proof that nature is a cruel place to be these boobies are.

  3. says

    Why are their feet blue?

    poor circulation…..

    sorry that was bad

    This tid bit of info was something I didn’t know

    Plunge diving can be done from heights of 33-100ft and even up to 330 ft (100 m). These birds hit the water around 60 mph (97 km/h)

    60 mph. Damn.

  4. Vidar says

    I think all the off-color comments have already been made, except for this one: (.)(.)

    Is it true, that you can just walk up to one of these birds, and pick it up without it protesting too much, or running/flying away?

  5. Sili says

    Their feet are blue so you can tell them apart from the red-footed boobies. Duh.

    FEETIST!

    To wit, to wòó†.

  6. says

    SC, I’ve seen photos in which BFBs display those feet in a most charming fashion, presumably at each other. When he’s in full breeding plumage, a male ruddy duck’s bill turns a shade of blue very like that, but it fades before he changes his feather suit for fall. So, bird tastes, go figure I guess.

    Many years ago, my little brother handed me a birthday gift: “…something I know you’ve always wanted!” A print of a British painting of a pair of Great Tits. Thanks, bro’.

  7. Peter Ashby says

    Yes, 60mph. According to the BBC’s Galapagos series eventually they go blind because of all that pounding. I suppose you have to die of something, nature red in tooth and claw etc. I was watching Life In The Freezer yesterday and the bit about Weddell seals dying around age 20 vs 40 for other large seals because their teeth wear down and they can’t keep their air holes open in the ice reminded me of that. Proof if you needed more that if there was a creator then he/she/it was a sadist of the worst sort.

  8. Sven DiMilo says

    Their feet are blue so you can tell them apart from the red-footed boobies.

    Actually, it’s closer to the truth to say that it’s so they can tell each other apart from the red-footed boobies.
    Now, let’s talk about blue tits.
    tWeet!

  9. Dave says

    Vidar
    “Is it true, that you can just walk up to one of these birds, and pick it up without it protesting too much, or running/flying away?”

    It probably is. I visited an island (Isla Isabela, I think) off the Pacific coast of Mexico some years ago that’s a wildlife sanctuary and covered with Boobie nests. We could get within arms reach of them and they didn’t flee. I didn’t try to pick one up but I’ll bet it’s easy if they’re nesting. They were amazing flyers, like little fighter jets.

  10. Mikel says

    “I’m the weaker blue-footed boobie baby. What are you gonna do?”

    I love “Letting Go of God” :)

  11. Wowbagger says

    These are arguably the coolest birds in the world. Their blue feet are awesome and their mating dance is all about showing them off – it’s one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever seen. Not in real life, unfortunately – but it’s still good on tv.

    I love blue-footed boobies!

  12. JCEvans says

    # 26 :”Is PZ wòót?”

    That would explain why woot has not been banned for insipidity or stupidity, wouldn’t it?”

    There is something insipid or stupid about booby pics on a biology-oriented blog? Well, at least the type of booby pics in question. Long live woot, the cuttlefish, and the Friday cephalopod for they amuse even when things look pretty dismal.