Blue-Footed Booby — Galápagos Courtship
32,183.16 ¥
A male blue-footed booby displaying his vivid turquoise feet to a female during the Galápagos courtship dance — the extraordinary foot colour that is the central signal of male quality.
Description
The blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) of the Galápagos Islands is one of wildlife’s most visually memorable courtship participants — the male’s foot colouration ranging from dull grey-green in poor condition to vivid turquoise in peak reproductive fitness, with females selecting mates primarily on this colour signal. This photograph captures a male mid-high-step display — the characteristic courtship dance in which the male lifts each foot alternately to display its colour to the attending female, whose feet are visibly duller. The photograph was made on North Seymour Island with the elevated feet at close range during the breeding season, the cobalt sky and white bird creating a composition of maximum colour impact.
