The whitish-brown Blue-footed Booby is approximately 80 cm high and has a wingspan of 1.5 metres. At first glance, the male and the female look identical. The best way to distinguish between them is to listen carefully: the males whistle and the females honk (heard that one before somewhere?). Their clownish behaviour, bizarre courting dance and Paddington Bear booties belie their speed in the air and their exceptional skill as plunge divers.
Courtship, mating and nesting occur year-round - although 'nest' is a euphemism for a scrape on the ground surrounded by a ring of guano. In a good year, all their young (up to three) may survive. Otherwise the stongest chick or chicks outcompete the weakest, which dies of starvation.
There are three species of Booby on the islands, none of which are endemic: they include the Blue-footed, Red-footed and Masked Booby. Blue-footed Booby colonies on Seymour and Española are occupied throughout the year.