Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Koa'e'ula

The Koa'e'lua or red-tailed tropic bird is the species we handle the most here on Midway. This one is incubating a chick. At least twice a week we go out and monitor, capture, and band these birds.

You will probably have to enlarge the picture by clicking on it to see the chick and the red tail.


The bands will stay on for life, which can be decades for the Koa'e'ula. Birds banded here have turned up in Japan and the Philippines.


We call these DFCs or downy feathered chicks.

Here is a PFC or partially feathered chick.

This is an albino albatross who hangs out with a tropic bird. Quite the identity crisis.

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