The blue-footed booby probably has the oddest name in the
animal kingdom. It is a
bird native to the
Galapagos Islands, and its Latin name is
Sula nebouxii. The blue-footed booby derives its name from - you guessed it - its distinctively
blue feet, which the
male displays
promiscuously during
courtship (
tourists wearing blue shoes have been known to attract
horny female boobies).
The nesting practices of the blue-footed booby are quite
bizarre: the male and female work hard to build a
nest, which they then scrape off of the ground so the female can lay her
eggs on the bare rock. The boobies then designate their nesting area by excreting a ring of
guano around the eggs.
Blue-footed boobies are social birds; they congregate in
flocks. Boobies are fish-eaters; they catch
fish by dive-bombing at breakneck speeds into the water. They then (theoretically) catch the fish underwater and resurface 10 feet away from where they went under. Blue-footed boobies are popular with tourists for their amusing appearance, spectacular hunting behavior, and funny courtship practices.