Something which Charles Darwin failed to spot when he visited the Galapagos Islands was the smile on those male Blue-footed boobies which skip a breeding season. The reason for the smile? Those males which abstain for a year have feet which are a brighter blue and more attractive to females.
Blue-footed boobies, one of the most loved and photographed species in Galapagos, are best known for their bright blue webbed feet, which the males prominently display in their courtship dances to attract females. A study has found that while the attractiveness of the blue feet diminishes with age in males that reproduce each year, if males skip a breeding season and don't mate, they appear to display a more attractive foot colour!
A new study reported in The National Geographic News shows researchers from University of Vigo in Spain, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico studied more than a hundred male blue-footed boobies over a total of six months in 2004 and 2005 on Mexico's Isla Isabel.
To adopt a Blue footed booby for a loved one for Christmas simply click here here
Blue-footed boobies, one of the most loved and photographed species in Galapagos, are best known for their bright blue webbed feet, which the males prominently display in their courtship dances to attract females. A study has found that while the attractiveness of the blue feet diminishes with age in males that reproduce each year, if males skip a breeding season and don't mate, they appear to display a more attractive foot colour!
A new study reported in The National Geographic News shows researchers from University of Vigo in Spain, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico studied more than a hundred male blue-footed boobies over a total of six months in 2004 and 2005 on Mexico's Isla Isabel.
To adopt a Blue footed booby for a loved one for Christmas simply click here here
