Lava Gull

Our last day in the Galapagos Islands, at Bachas Beach on Santa Cruz Island, our nature director indicated that a lava gull was flying overhead, a bird I really wanted to see, so I pulled up my camera and let the shutter fly. The result was not great, but I captured the essence of the bird. The lava gull is the rarest gull in the world. It is endemic to the Galapagos Islands and there are only about 300 to 600 of them alive. They are usually only found on Santa Cruz, Genovesa, Isabela or San Cristobal Islands. 

The black head, bill and legs are recognizable, as are the white eyebrows and red eyelid. 

It has a sooty brown to black head, it has dark wings with a leading white edge, a dark gray body and a paler gray belly. The bill and legs are black and the inside of the mouth is scarlet. It has white upper and lower eyebrows with red eyelids. 

A less clear photo, but I captured the outline and some of the features. 

I was happy to get some recognizable photos which I hope to improve upon the next time I get back to the Galapagos.