Genovesa Island
Another day of paradise in the Galapagos Islands. Gorgeous weather accompanied us the whole day. We saw many different marine and land bird species; red-footed boobies, frigate birds and gulls were the favorites.
The beautiful bird seen in today’s picture is a swallow-tailed gull, one of the most gorgeous gulls of the world. Its elegant plumage and colors are truly exquisite. This sea bird stole our attention today. This endemic bird is the only nocturnal gull in the world. They feed at night mainly on squid to avoid daytime predators. Besides being very beautiful it has very interesting adaptations for nocturnal life as well. Large eyes surrounded by red eye rings; white markings at the base of the bill, light color at the tip of the beak. These adaptations allow the gull chicks to see their parents better at night. The parent’s colors and markings incite the babies to start begging for food by pecking on their beaks. The chicks themselves are mottled white, therefore their parents can find them easily at night.
Later in the afternoon we had a grand finale. We finished the day with an amazing sighting of a pod of Orca whales. At least three, including a juvenile, of these cetaceans were breaching and tail-lobbing in front of our astounded guests. What a day!
Another day of paradise in the Galapagos Islands. Gorgeous weather accompanied us the whole day. We saw many different marine and land bird species; red-footed boobies, frigate birds and gulls were the favorites.
The beautiful bird seen in today’s picture is a swallow-tailed gull, one of the most gorgeous gulls of the world. Its elegant plumage and colors are truly exquisite. This sea bird stole our attention today. This endemic bird is the only nocturnal gull in the world. They feed at night mainly on squid to avoid daytime predators. Besides being very beautiful it has very interesting adaptations for nocturnal life as well. Large eyes surrounded by red eye rings; white markings at the base of the bill, light color at the tip of the beak. These adaptations allow the gull chicks to see their parents better at night. The parent’s colors and markings incite the babies to start begging for food by pecking on their beaks. The chicks themselves are mottled white, therefore their parents can find them easily at night.
Later in the afternoon we had a grand finale. We finished the day with an amazing sighting of a pod of Orca whales. At least three, including a juvenile, of these cetaceans were breaching and tail-lobbing in front of our astounded guests. What a day!
