Rising Tide Images
Nestled Nestling
After feeding on whole fish or squid delivered by a parent, this week old hatchling gets some warming time. Manu o Kū is also known throughout the tropics as the white tern (Gygis alba). They are arboreal nesting seabirds, though no nest is actually constructed. These terns lay a single egg in a hollow or forked branch of a tree to incubate and raise a chick. Strong sharp claws and reduced webbing on their feet facilitate clutching on to a bare branch. This nest in the outer branches of a monkey pod tree swayed considerably in the strong wind of a passing storm that made it difficult for the tending parents to land in the thick canopy. But all were able to hang on.
Nestled Nestling
After feeding on whole fish or squid delivered by a parent, this week old hatchling gets some warming time. Manu o Kū is also known throughout the tropics as the white tern (Gygis alba). They are arboreal nesting seabirds, though no nest is actually constructed. These terns lay a single egg in a hollow or forked branch of a tree to incubate and raise a chick. Strong sharp claws and reduced webbing on their feet facilitate clutching on to a bare branch. This nest in the outer branches of a monkey pod tree swayed considerably in the strong wind of a passing storm that made it difficult for the tending parents to land in the thick canopy. But all were able to hang on.