 Great Bird Island, Antigua Red-billed Tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus). | |||||||||
  Great Bird Island  Great Bird Island  Great Bird Island | |||||||||
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| Location | Caribbean | ||||||||
| Coordinates | 17°08′42″N 61°43′27″W / 17.14500°N 61.72417°W | ||||||||
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Private island
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Great Bird Island is a tiny islet lying 2.5 kilometers off the northeast coast of Antigua. Measuring just 20 acres (81,000 m2), it is smaller than most city parks. It is a private island but open to the public.[1]
Flora and Fauna
The island is the only place on Earth where you can see an Antiguan racer (Alsophis antiguae) in the wild. The entire world population of this snake no longer lives on just the one island. Named by sailors who were amazed at the number of birds that they found living and nesting there, Great Bird Island is a miniature paradise. As well as being the last refuge of the Antiguan racer, it is also home to a variety of other endangered creatures including the near-threatened lizard Pholidoscelis griswoldi, brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), West Indian whistling ducks and red-billed tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus).[2] Hundreds of black rats lived there until recently.
References
- ↑ (in French) Great Bird Island (Antigua) www.sea-seek.com
- ↑ Bob Downing Antigua offers 365 beaches full of sand, sights and water sports for travelers Akron Beacon Journal Jul 10, 2011