The Maldives is home to some of the most graceful seabirds in the Indian Ocean, and among them, the white tailed tropic bird stands out for its beauty and elegance. It is admired for its snow-white feathers, black eye markings, and long flowing tail streamers that dance behind it in flight.

The local name is Dhandifulhu Dhooni.

Here at Dhigufaru we have the

• Thundi Bar – which translates to beach bar
• Muraka a la carte restaurant – meaning coral restaurant
• Athiri Grill – in English it is the seaside grill
• Raagudi bar – is the tuna bar
• Baraveli kids club – a collection of words, lexicon kids club
• Dhandifulhu buffet restaurant – tropic bird restaurant

And right next to the restaurant the external roots of a screw pine serve every few months as a nesting place for the white tailed tropic bird. While they were once abundant, currently nesting tropic birds are considered rare or rarely seen in most of the Maldives.

Historically they are considered a sign of good fortune by Maldivian sailors.

Tropic birds spend most of their lives at sea, returning to remote islands and quiet sandbanks to nest and raise their young. In the Maldives, they are commonly spotted around isolated Atolls where human activity is limited.

Tropic birds are skilled hunters that feed mainly on flying fish and squid. They soar high above the water before diving swiftly into the ocean to catch prey.

Beyond their beauty, seabirds also symbolize the fragile balance of nature in the Maldives. Rising sea levels, pollution, and habitat disturbance threaten many seabird nesting areas across the region. Conservation efforts aimed at protecting coral reefs, uninhabited islands, and marine biodiversity are therefore essential not only for sea life but also for birds like the tropic bird.

Manta Trust has started to support a research programme led by the University of Auckland New Zealand in collaboration with EPA Maldives with the goal to identify, protect and restore seabird nesting islands in the Maldives and to revive the reciprocal relationship between healthy islands and healthy oceans.

Yes, they are connected!

Reefs around seabird islands are healthier with corals growing 4 times faster and reef having up to 50% more fish and corals becoming more resilient to heatwaves.

Seabirds obtain nutrients from marine sources, which are then released on the islands as poop which in return is beneficial for the terrestrial environment.

The Lhaviyani Atoll has now around 800 nesting tropic birds.