A Duck and More Tortoises

Above is the white-cheeked pintail duck. These fellows are found from as far north as southern Florida and as a far south as the southern tip of South America. This one is just chillin' by the small pond where the tortoises are hanging out.

Tortoises Hanging Out

In addition to growing moss on their skin, they also seem to not lick their lips either.

Tortoises Everywhere

If you ever wondered how you'd clean yourself if you lived outside, ate off the ground, and had no hands to wipe your mouth with, here you go. Not exactly the neatest critters around.

Santa Cruz Island and the Tortoises

So, we wrapped up our adventure ion San Cristóbal Island, boarded a boat to Santa Cruz Island, dropped our luggage and headed out to the center of the island to a tortoise farm.

Sally Lightfoot and Blue-Footed Booby

This crab is called the sally lightfoot crab. They get their name, perhaps, after a Caribbean dancer.

The Blue-Footed Booby

This booby is a handsome bird. This one is giving me lots of time to get some portraits while he sits, preens, and relaxes before the next hunt for food.

Gray Warbler Finch and Blue-footed Booby

If it is not a seabird, then it is usually a finch of some sort. This is the gray warbler finch. It is only found on San Christóbal and a few other very tiny islands on the eastern side of the archipelago.

Magnificent Frigate Bird

Frigate birds have a problem. Their plumage is not waterproof. This means that when they are at sea, which is most of the time, they cannot land on the water nor can they dive for food. If they do, they become waterlogged and drown.

Swallow-tailed Gull and Smooth-billed Ani

Since you had a strinking view of an immature swallow-tailed gull, I thought you also deserved to see a few images of the adult.