birds
INDO-PACIFIC Tropical Seashore
The different species of birds found on the tropical seashores of the Indian and Pacific oceans...
Family Burhinidae: Thick-knees
Recurvirostridae: Stilts & Avocets
Family Haematopodidae: Oystercatchers
Haematopus longirostris, 'Pied Oystercatcher', (Lacepede Islands, Australia).
Haematopus fuliginosus, 'Sooty Oystercatcher', (Lacepede Islands, Australia).
Family Charadriidae: Plovers, Dotterels
Charadrius ruficapillus, 'Red-capped Plover', (Lacepede Islands, Australia).
Family Scolopacidae: Sandpipers, Snipes
Calidris ruficollis, 'Red-necked Stint', (Lacepede Islands, Australia).
Arenaria interpres, 'Ruddy Turnstone', (Lacepede Islands, Australia). Widespread throughout most of the coasts of the world.
Family Dromadidae: Crab Plover
Family Laridae: Terns and Gulls
the secret of tern pair bonding, is that "one good tern deserves another"Terns usually breed in pairs that are monogamous for the season.
(Alim Island, Papua New Guinea)Sterna sumatrana, 'Black-naped Tern'.
(Madagascar)Thalasseus bengalensis, 'Lesser Crested Tern'.
(Lacepede Islands, Australia)Thalasseus bergii, 'Crested Tern'.
(Michaelmas Cay, Australia)Crested Tern with egg.
(Lacepede Islands, Australia)Hydroprogne caspia, 'Caspian Tern'.
(Michalemas Cay, Australia).Onychoprion fuscatus, 'Sooty Tern', 'Wide-a-awake Tern'.
(Ducie Atoll, Pitcairn Islands)Gygis alba, 'White Tern'. Sometimes called 'Fairy Tern. Stunning all white tern with sharp bill and large black eyes. Mostly found on very remote oceanic islands.
(Oeno Island, Pitcairn Islands)White Terns nest on branches. Their single egg balances precariously on a beach tree branch with no nesting material. The small but pugnacious chick follows.
Annous 'Noddies'
Noddys are terns with the colours reversed; instead of being white with a dark cap, they are dark with a light cap.
Anous 'Noddy'. A pair, nodding.
Family Phaethonitidae, Tropicbirds
awwww...it''s so cute and fwuffy! (Aride, Seychelles)White-tailed Tropicbird chick.
Family Procellariidae: Petrels & Shearwaters
(Ducie Atoll, Pitcairn Islands)Pterodroma ultima, 'Murphy's Petrel'. Mostly all dark grey, often has a 'dirty' white face. Mostly breeds on remote Ducie Atoll in the Pitcairn group, eastern Pacific. These birds are thought to be one of the most far-ranging foraging seabirds in the world.
Family Fregatidae: Frigatebirds
Lacepede Islands, Australia)Lesser Frigatebird growing chick with adult (chick on left).
Family Sulidae, Boobies
(Alim Island, Papua New Guinea)Sula sula, 'Red-footed Booby'.
(Lacepede Islands, Australia)Sula leucogaster, 'Brown Booby', in flight.
Lacepede Islands, Australia)With it's fluff, the growing chick of the Brown Booby quickly appears larger than the parent.
(Lacepede Islands, Australia)Brown Booby large growing chick. As the chicks grow, they are left by the parents for longer and longer time periods.
Family Phalacrocoracidae: Cormorants
(Lacepede Islands, Australia)Phalacrocorax varius, 'Pied Cormorant'.
Family Pelecanidae: Pelicans
(Lacepede Islands, Australia)Pelecanus conspicillatus, 'Australian Pelican'.
Family Ardeidae: Herons, Egrets, Bitterns
(Lacepede Islands, Australia)Egretta sacra, 'Eastern Reef Egret'.
(Misool, Indonesia) Eastern Reef Egret, in flight.
(Misool, Indonesia)Butorides striata,, 'Mangrove/Striated Heron'.
Family Accipitridae: Hawks, Kites, Eagles
(Krakatoa, Indonesia)Haliaeetus leucogaster, 'White-bellied Sea-eagle'. Large bird of prey found along tropical shores of Australasia and Asia.