ML42734341

Age and sex

Juvenile, Unknown sex - X

Media notes

Here the booby is shown preening its breast. The breast and the belly are white in both juveniles and adults of this species, but the darkish hood that extends down onto the upper breast is part of the juvenile plumage. The very dark top of the head and somewhat dark nape also are part of that plumage stage. Here one gets a first look at one of the bird's webbed feet. Here it evinces a slight bluish wash amidst the gray, which is fully compatible with a juvenile of this species. I suggest, though, that the intensity of the blue has been diminished in this photo by the very bright direct sunlight reflecting off the web of the foot. Evidence that accords with this will be seen in the final photo of this set (ML42734441), which has good indirect light on the foot, but not the intense direct light in this photo. That final photo shows the blue very clearly.

Observation details

We had first visited this bird at about 11:00 AM. The sky was overcast, and the booby basically slept, except for one brief stand-up after which it immediately went back to sleep. We decided to return in the afternoon when, we surmised, the sky might be more sunny and the bird more active, providing thereby better looks and more opportunity for photos. We returned at about 1:00 PM, when the sun was out and the bird, indeed, was somewhat more active. On both occasions, though, we never saw it anywhere than on the tip of the diving board. On our return visit we spent perhaps 20 minutes there, observing and photographing the bird. Five photos and related commentary are provided herewith.

Technical information

Dimensions

2889 pixels x 1898 pixels

Original file size

542.62 KB