There are three species of boobies in the Galapagos Islands, the Nazca, the red footed, and the blue footed booby. Of these, it’s the blue footed that everyone comes to see. Their feet are actually a sexually selected trait, with both males and females preferring mates with brighter feet. The courtship dance is one of the most comical in the bird world, with mating pairs lifting their feet to display to each other. Unfortunately, mating season had just ended so we didn’t see the dance, but we did see plenty of the blue feet coming in for landings and flying through the air.