The Galapagos are birdwatcher's paradise — or so say the tourist brochures. This time it's true! The bird life (and other wildlife) is so special because they completely lack instinctive fear of people. You can approach a bird to within a few feet and it will eye you warily, but otherwise show no response. A birdwatcher can get up close and personal with species they could not see anywhere else. Many of the birds are unique to the islands. Seabirds thrive in the diverse shore-line, cliffside and volcanic habitats. Through the panorama soot-dark finches and bright yellow warblers thread their way among forests of prickly pear, palo santo and palo verde. Uplands are the domain of damp tropical forests — the habitat of birds you have never seen before. Along a rocky cliff, thousands of pairs of raucuous birds nest on the ground, performing weird and often amusing rituals of greeting, courtship or territory.