Postcard 3

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	Postcard 3 Certainly the most characteristic birds in the Galápagos are the Boobies, and though none of the three species are endemic, all are found in large numbers and are quite common. They are closely related to the sea birds called gannets (of the Sulidae family), and travel in groups, flying over the open waters and diving -- quite dramatically -- for fish. Incidentally, 'booby' is a term that derives from a Spanish slang for clown, 'bobo,' though the boobies found on the Galápagos are called piqueros by the Spanish speakers themselves. While all three Sula species nest in the Galápagos, and are sometimes found on land near one or the other of their cousins. But at sea you rarely see more than one species at a time because their feeding range is quite different.			Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Timothy and Anna took a cruise around the Galapagos Islands prior to his last audit in 2000. The blue footed boobies feed close to shore, the masked in deeper offshore waters, and the red-footed far out to sea, though still within flying distance of their island nests. The Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxi) is the most distinctive of the three species, and the most frequently seen. Its feet are bright blue, and in the drab landscape of the Galápagos they seem surreal. Paired with their blatant indifference to humanity, and their elaborate courtship display, they do indeed appear comical. The blue-foots feed on fish in the shallow off-shore waters, plummeting from up to 80 feet high to land with a thud and splash in the water.

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