The mockingbird was one of my favorite animals on the Galapagos Islands. This bird is fearless, curious and very, very cheeky. [Above and below] Hood Mockingbird.
I first saw one it was perched on a wall at eye-level. I started to take photos of it but every time it heard the shutter 'click' it flew to the top of my head, circled about 10 centimeters over it - I felt the flutter of air – and came back down to its original position. The first 2 times this happened I wasn't sure if it actually happened. But it did, and the mockingbird just stood there, 50 cm away from me, with a 'what-are-you-looking-at' expression on its face. I actually asked, "Are you mocking me?"
They are a lot of fun to watch. They do whatever they like and go wherever they like. Mostly they go around looking to eat eggs but there were a few times that I was afraid they would fly up to me and start pecking at my toes and/or brain. [Below] Galapagos Mockingbird.
[Above and Below] Brown Noddy. How’s this for a cheeky bird: whenever a pelican dives for fish, a brown noddy quickly flies up to it and lands on its submerged head, waiting for it to resurface so that it may steal the fish from the pelican’s mouth.
[Below] Galapagos Flycatcher - another fearless bird. Apparently they will eat flies from the palm of your hand. Though unfortunately I also heard that they are not so great in number.
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- More oddities from Galapagos
- Horrid beasts and mutations from the Galapagos Islands
- I made it to the Galapagos Islands!
