Great Bird Island is a tiny islet lying almost three kilometres north-east of Antigua

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...

. Measuring just 20 acres (80,937.2 m²), smaller than most city parks, it 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 lives on the 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 rare lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...

 Ameiva griswoldi

Ameiva griswoldi

Griswold's Ameiva is a species of lizard in the genus Ameiva. It is endemic to the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, where it is found on both islands. It is also known as the Antiguan Ameiva or the Antiguan Ground Lizard.It is common on Barbuda, and more common on the offshore islands of...

, Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican

The Brown Pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is in length, weighs from and has a wingspan from .-Range and habits:...

s (Pelecanus occidentalis), West Indian Whistling Ducks and Red-billed Tropicbird

Red-billed Tropicbird

The Red-billed Tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus, also known as the Boatswain Bird is a tropicbird, one of three closely related seabirds of tropical oceans.-Distribution and habitat:...

s (Phaethon aethereus). Luckily for the snake, there are no mongoose

Mongoose

Mongoose are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like"...

s on the island, although hundreds of black rat

Black Rat

The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...

s lived there until recently. The island is currently privately owned by a British businesswoman based in Suffolk

Suffolk

Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.