Galapagos Lava Heron on Santiago Island
by Catherine Sherman
Title
Galapagos Lava Heron on Santiago Island
Artist
Catherine Sherman
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
"Lava Heron, Santiago Island, Galapagos" by Catherine Sherman.
A Lava Heron hunts for food along the coast of Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. The lava heron stalks small crabs and fish slowly before quickly spearing and eating them.
While I was photographing this bird, it speared and ate something so quickly I didn't even see what it was.
You can see a spot of red above the bird's beak. That's a Sally Lightfoot crab, which has wisely retreated to a crevice in the rock.
The Lava Heron is unique to the Galapagos islands. The bird's slate gray color allows it to blend in with the volcanic rocks.
Santiago island was formed from volcanic flows about 1.5 to 2 million years ago, but lava flowed as recently as a century ago, producing a field of lava called pahoehoe (rope-like in Hawaiian) off of Sullivan Bay, which visitors can hike. The island is also known as San Salvador and also James Island.
The Galapagos Islands (official name: Archipilago de Colon) or Islas Galapagos, are an archipelago of volcanic islands spread across the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, 563 miles (906 kilometers) west of continental Ecuador, to which they belong.
The Galapagos Islands and their surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve.
The islands are famed for their vast number of endemic (unique) species and were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
"Featured in Philanthropic Artists For a Cause" group (04/26/2015); "Animals of the World" group (05/02/2015); "Nature Landmarks Landscapes Wildlife" group (04/29/2015)
Uploaded
April 26th, 2015
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Viewed 538 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 04/10/2024 at 12:36 AM
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