Genovesa Island
This beautiful and remote little jewel in the Pacific Ocean was at its best today. The abundance of bird wildlife found on this paradisiacal island is overwhelming and at the same time inspirational. It is estimated that approximately one million birds call Genovesa Island their home. All these birds live in just 5.4 square miles, which is the total surface area of the Island. As you can read between these few lines, the density of birds living on the island is simply spectacular.
During this time of the year some bird species are especially attractive to their observers. Male frigate birds with their red pouches inflated are a true highlight. This pouch, correctly named gular sack, constitutes a fantastic sexual attraction device that male frigates use to call the attention of the passing by females. The males’ display is not only colourful, but amusing as well. At the sight of a female, the male frigate starts shaking its widely opened wings rapidly. While doing this, the frigate moves its gular sack side to side and at the same time emits a hard-to-describe loud vocalization. The latter sound is comparable to a mix between an electronic device and a child playing imitating the voice of a Native American warrior. You can just imagine the delight that produces the observation of the scene of many desperate frigate bird males trying to conquer a frigate bird female by using their charm. With these short paragraphs I just wanted to justify in few words the joy and amazement that Genovesa and its wonderful avifauna evokes in its visitors.
This beautiful and remote little jewel in the Pacific Ocean was at its best today. The abundance of bird wildlife found on this paradisiacal island is overwhelming and at the same time inspirational. It is estimated that approximately one million birds call Genovesa Island their home. All these birds live in just 5.4 square miles, which is the total surface area of the Island. As you can read between these few lines, the density of birds living on the island is simply spectacular.
During this time of the year some bird species are especially attractive to their observers. Male frigate birds with their red pouches inflated are a true highlight. This pouch, correctly named gular sack, constitutes a fantastic sexual attraction device that male frigates use to call the attention of the passing by females. The males’ display is not only colourful, but amusing as well. At the sight of a female, the male frigate starts shaking its widely opened wings rapidly. While doing this, the frigate moves its gular sack side to side and at the same time emits a hard-to-describe loud vocalization. The latter sound is comparable to a mix between an electronic device and a child playing imitating the voice of a Native American warrior. You can just imagine the delight that produces the observation of the scene of many desperate frigate bird males trying to conquer a frigate bird female by using their charm. With these short paragraphs I just wanted to justify in few words the joy and amazement that Genovesa and its wonderful avifauna evokes in its visitors.
