They were an ethereal white with a bright orange beak and two long tail feathers sweeping behind them. Against the sky, their wings glow from the sunlight passing through them.
They live in the cracks of coastal cliffs and dive for herring and other small fish in the surrounding sea. Red-billed Tropicbirds are Galapagos residents but common across the eastern Pacific, Caribbean and Indian oceans.In addition to those at Kicker Rock, I saw others flying amid the Nazca Boobies on the coast of Espanola, but never once saw them standing on two legs.