Nazca Booby (Sula granti)
Off The East Coast Of Equador
South America
Genovesa Island
Nazca Booby image taken on Genovesa Island in the Galapagos.
Source Wikipedia - The Nazca booby (Sula granti) is a colonial seabird in the family Sulidae, native to the eastern Pacific.
The female is bigger and heavier than the male, has a slightly differently colored beak, and squawks while the male whistles. Chicks are snow white and fluffy, plumage changing to grey along with beak and feet upon fledging.
The species occurs in the eastern Pacific from the islands in Baja California to the Galápagos Islands and the Isla de la Plata in Ecuador and Malpelo in Colombia.
The Nazca booby preys on small fish caught by diving at high speed from flight into the ocean. The main food species is South American pilchard, but also take flying fish, anchovies and squid, specially during the El Niño events, when sardine numbers are low. Because of their sexual dimorphism, females tend to feed on bigger prey and dive deeper.
The Nazca booby nests near cliffs on bare ground with little to no vegetation. The male chooses and defends a territory, then enters into courtship to attract females. Like many seabirds, the species has a long lifespan combined with low annual reproduction and long periods of development in the young. Clutch size is one or two eggs, due to the low hatching success, it is common for only one of the chicks to survive.
The Nazca booby is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. Some of the factors that influence the decrease of populations are overfishing and marine pollution.
Nazca Booby (Sula granti)
Off The East Coast Of Equador
South America
Genovesa Island
Nazca Booby image taken on Genovesa Island in the Galapagos.
Source Wikipedia - The Nazca booby (Sula granti) is a colonial seabird in the family Sulidae, native to the eastern Pacific.
The female is bigger and heavier than the male, has a slightly differently colored beak, and squawks while the male whistles. Chicks are snow white and fluffy, plumage changing to grey along with beak and feet upon fledging.
The species occurs in the eastern Pacific from the islands in Baja California to the Galápagos Islands and the Isla de la Plata in Ecuador and Malpelo in Colombia.
The Nazca booby preys on small fish caught by diving at high speed from flight into the ocean. The main food species is South American pilchard, but also take flying fish, anchovies and squid, specially during the El Niño events, when sardine numbers are low. Because of their sexual dimorphism, females tend to feed on bigger prey and dive deeper.
The Nazca booby nests near cliffs on bare ground with little to no vegetation. The male chooses and defends a territory, then enters into courtship to attract females. Like many seabirds, the species has a long lifespan combined with low annual reproduction and long periods of development in the young. Clutch size is one or two eggs, due to the low hatching success, it is common for only one of the chicks to survive.
The Nazca booby is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. Some of the factors that influence the decrease of populations are overfishing and marine pollution.