Genovesa -continued: Birds Everywhere

There are birds everywhere. 

Each one has adapted to its environment.  The Galapagos dove (below) has a sharp beak that makes it easy to pick seeds from the ground.  The dove tends to stay on the ground, where it finds nourishment.  I don’t remember seeing any in flight.

 

 

And now...my first booby!  Totally unimpressed by us humans,  this Nazca booby is stretching his wings (note that wing span) as he gets ready for take off.

Nazca boobies are the largest of the boobies on the Galapagos.  They were once called ‘masked boobies’ because of the dark color mask around their eyes.  There are masked boobies, but the ‘real’ Nazca booby has a orangy-reddish beak.  They nest on the ground and breed annually producing two eggs that hatch a few days apart. 

I learned about bird ‘siblicide’ on this trip.  Many boobies have two hatchlings, but  only one of the chicks survives--and it’s not an accident.  The stronger chick eventually throws the smaller, weaker sibling out of the nest. 

Why did this behavior evolve?  Maybe laying two eggs assures that if a predator gets to the first egg, there will still be offspring.  But if both hatchlings survive, the older booby gets rid of the younger and the parents do not interfere.

Neither do we.  Going a little out of sequence.... later in the trip, on Espanola Island, we see two blue-footed booby chicks with their mother.  The well-fed, larger chick is safely nestled under mom.   Ousted from shelter and slowly starving is the small chick in the foreground.

The short hard life of the second booby chick

All of us wish we could do something.  But Roberto reminds us that we do not interfere with the natural way of life on the islands.  So I have this photo and a sad and painful memory that nature is sometimes cruel.  

Back to Genovesa.  Families of birds everywhere I turn, and they are not in the least bit interested--or intimidated --by me.

I introduce myself to an unintimidated booby...

....and its friend

Feeding time

 

 

Redfooted booby and chick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is much more to see here and we’ll return the next Galapagos post.  But next, a brief diversion to Porchfests. 
What?
Porchfests.... for the tourist at  home.

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