A succession of Red-billed Tropicbirds (
Phaethon aethereus) flew into the cleft between the towers of Kicker Rock, perfectly timed like planes coming into a crowded airport.
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.
Red-billed Tropicbird with tail feathers trailing
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.
