The Galápagos Islands - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 393

Española Island is the only permanent waved
albatross nesting site in the entire world.
Frigate Birds
The pirates of theGalápagos are these enormous birds, of which there
are two species, the greater frigate and the magnificent frigate .
From above, these pterodactyl-shaped creatures look like something
straight out of the age of dinosaurs. During courtship on land, the
males inflate bright-red flaps of skin around their necks until they
look like giant balloons. This colorful behavior is amusing to humans
and great for pictures. Other Galápagos seabirds, however, don't par-
ticularly care for their airborne antics, as frigates literally steal fish
from them in the air by aggravating them from above. Don't think of
this as a character flaw, however. It is simply amatter of design. Frig-
ate birds evolved so that they can't fish underwater. They are expert
pilots and seem to be able to drift with the wind forever.
Penguins
The flightless Galápagos penguin is endemic to these islands and is
the most northernmost penguin species in the world. If you happen to
see a tuxedo shooting by just under the water's surface, it's a penguin.
Underwater, they're as swift and graceful as any fish; on land, they're
rigid and awkward.
More Winged Creatures
In all, there are dozens of bird species that reside in the Galápagos.
Although it is beyond the scope of this topic to detail them all, each is
fascinating and well worth discovering. One of my favorites and the
easiest to identify is the brown pelican . You won't have to go far to
spot one, as they like to roost on the bows of yachts and can outstare
even the most patient observer. The bright pink greater flamingo ,
by contrast, is found only in shallow, salty lagoons. Herons and
egrets, such as the great blue heron , the snow-white cattle egret ,
the lava heron , and the yellow-crowned night heron , also call
the Galápagos home. Common shorebirds include American oys-
ter-catchers , plovers , gulls , terns , and sandpipers . Inland are
owls , pigeons , flycatchers , mockingbirds , warblers , and tana-
gers , among others.