Blue-Footed Boobies on a Dry Island

Blue-Footed Boobies on a Dry Island is an original illustration set in North Seymour Island, Galapagos, Ecuador. It lies in equatorial latitudes, where the climate is hot semi-arid steppe.

A pair of boobies performs a high-stepping courtship display on pale volcanic ground, their powder-blue feet lifted deliberately in turn. Bare rock and sparse low scrub surround them, and the light is hard and equatorial.

Why are the booby's feet bright blue?

The blue comes from pigments in fresh fish and fades when a bird is in poor condition, so the display is an honest signal — the feet advertise how well the bird is feeding. Nesting on open ground with no cover only works where there are no land predators. Bare volcanic rock with sparse scrub on the equator means a young island in a cold current.

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