The blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a marine bird in the family Sulidae, which includes ten species of long-winged seabirds. Blue-footed boobies belong to the genus Sula, which comprises six species of boobies. It is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue feet, which is a sexually selected trait. Males display their feet in an elaborate mating ritual by lifting their feet up and down while strutting before the female.

This picture taken on November 1, 2014 shows Japanese body-painting artist Hikaru Cho (L) adding the finishing touches to a body painting of fingers sticking out from prison cell bars on the head of Ryonosuke Tanaka during “Tokyo Designers Week” in Tokyo. Cho, 21, was born to Chinese parents in Japan and burst onto Tokyo's art scene when she entered the city's Musashino Art University in 2012. Cho's ultimate ambition is to paint an entire – and naked – body. (Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP Photo)

A hairdressing mannequin is seen outside a hair salon amid as Typhoon Matmo hits Nantong, Jiangsu province July 25, 2014. Matmo, which made landfall in Fujian Province on Wednesday, has brought strong winds and heavy downpours to more areas in China after it moved northward on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Peruvian shamans holding a figure of a Nino Jesus (Child Jesus) and a snake perform a ritual at the Rimac river to fight the negative effects of the Nino weather phenomena over Nature, in Lima, October 1, 2015. (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

Indian wrestlers Rashid Anwar (left) and Ajaib Singh in a training bout at Lane's Club in Baker Street London before the Empire Games, 19th July 1934. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Kirby Chambliss of the United States flies in formation with Matt Hall of Australia, Yoshihide Muroya of Japan and Nigel Lamb of Britain prior to the third stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 15, 2014. (Photo by Joerg Mitter/Red Bull via Reuters)

A woman sits as she gets a tattoo on her leg during the annual Panama City Ink Fest in Panama City August 16, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)