Blue-Footed Boobies Protect Their Eggs By Dirtying Them
  • 9 years ago
A new study has found that blue-footed boobies on the Pacific island of Isla Isabel appear to try and protect their eggs from predators by coloring the white shells with nearby dirt as a kind of camouflage.

Numerous birds have been known to camouflage their eggs to protect them from predators, but one species appears to have a rather unique way of going about it. 

While most are known to use pigments, a recently published study has found that blue-footed boobies color their eggs with nearby dirt. 


Biologists studying the birds on the Pacific island of Isla Isabel had noticed the browning before but thought it was a result of the eggs incubating on the ground without a nest. 


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