Photos: Bermuda Longtails At Cooper’s Island

The photo gallery below shows a look at some of breathtaking beauty of Bermuda’s longtails, with a number of them recently seen in Cooper’s Island in the East End.

The Bermuda Department of Environment and Natural Resources describes the longtail by saying, “The White-tailed Tropicbird is almost always known in Bermuda has the ‘Longtail’ because of its distinctive tail feathers. This species is well known and much loved locally.

“The Longtail is an open ocean species that only comes in to land to breed. It is a cavity-nester, which lays its single egg in holes and crevices eroded from the soft limestone of Bermuda’s coastal cliffs. When not in Bermuda, Longtails are at sea feeding on squid and open ocean fish, like Ocean Robins.

“Longtails first appear in Bermuda between late February and the end of March, and have long been acknowledged by Bermudians as the first sign of spring. Pairs of birds can be seen in aerial courtship throughout April, and a single egg is laid at the end of April and beginning of May in the nest cavity. The egg is incubated in turn by both parents with most hatching in June or July.

“The Longtail is the only seabird that nests in significant numbers in Bermuda, and in turn, Bermuda plays a critical role in the life history of this species. ”

#Animal #Birds #Longtails

Category: All, Environment, Photos