# Blue-footed booby (*Sula nebouxii*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-footed-booby  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a bird in the family Sulidae, part of the order Suliformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 1.52 kg, and our sources report adult weights from 1.283 to 1.801 kg. The blue-footed booby is a carnivorous aquatic predator of marine habitats with an aerial lifestyle, and it is partially migratory. It lays 2 eggs per clutch with an incubation period of 41 days, reaches sexual maturity at 3 years, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.28 kg – 1.8 kg |
| Length | up to 90 cm |
| Lifespan | 17.7 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 18 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | marine |
| Egg incubation | 41 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Age at maturity | 2.98 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.25 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Suliformes
- family: Sulidae
- genus: Sula
- species: *Sula nebouxii* Milne-Edwards, 1882

Synonyms: *Sula gossi*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the blue-footed booby?

The blue-footed booby is a bird in the family Sulidae and the order Suliformes.

### How heavy is the blue-footed booby?

An adult Blue-footed booby weighs 1.52 kg, with our sources reporting adult weights from 1.283 to 1.801 kg.

### What does the blue-footed booby eat?

The blue-footed booby is a carnivore and an aquatic predator.

### Is the blue-footed booby endangered?

No. The blue-footed booby is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the blue-footed booby live?

The blue-footed booby has a lifespan of 17.67 years, with sources reporting up to 18 years.

### How many eggs does the blue-footed booby lay?

The blue-footed booby lays 2 eggs per clutch, with 1.25 clutches per year, and the eggs are incubated for 41 days.

### Does the blue-footed booby migrate?

The blue-footed booby is partially migratory.

### Who named the blue-footed booby?

The blue-footed booby was named Sula nebouxii by Milne-Edwards, 1882.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-footed-booby