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Galapagos Day 7 - Genovesa - Tower |
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A pair of
Swallow-tailed Gulls with chick on Genovesa. This
nocturnal gull specializes in feeding at sea at night. 17 November 2011. |
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Page 9 of 9.
Last page. Please
scroll down. |
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From the panga we saw
Galapagos Fur Seals. |
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Galapagos Fur Seal resting on rocks near
Prince Philip's Steps. |
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At the top of the
cliff, we followed well marked trails that led us through colonies
of birds. |
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An inquisitive
Galapagos Mockingbird almost landed on Brian's hat. |
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The subspecies of
mockingbird found
only on Genovesa is Nesomimus parvulus bauri. |
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Lava Cactus grows in
cracks in lava. It is one the first plants to colonize after a
fresh flow of lava. |
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Prince Philip's Steps
are steep and carved into the cliff, but we all made it safely back
to our panga. |
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Genovesa Finches |
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Four species of
finches are on Genovesa: Large Ground-Finch, Large Cactus-Finch,
Sharp-beaked Ground-Finch, and Warbler Finch. |
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Large Ground-Finch at
Darwin Bay. |
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Large Cactus-Finch at
Darwin Bay. |
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Warbler Finch at
Darwin Bay |
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Sharp-beaked Ground-Finch at Darwin Bay
on Genovesa. Also known as Vampire Finch on two islands, Darwin and
Wolf, it eats the parasites on Nazca Boobies and uses its sharp beak
to peck into flesh at the base of feathers and drink blood. It rolls
boobies' eggs to break them open and consume the nutrient-rich
contents. See video links below. |
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The black mark on the
side of this Nazca Booby's head is a parasite. Vampire Finches eat
these parasites. |
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Watch these
two fascinating videos about
Vampire Finches |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6fqrDShlMM
http://www.arkive.org/sharp-beaked-ground-finch/geospiza-difficilis/video-08c.html |
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