Frigatebird

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For other uses, see (disambiguation)}}}.

There are five species in the family Fregatidae, the frigatebirds. They are very closely related, and are all in the single genus Fregata. Frigatebirds attack other sea birds, hence the name. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them.

Frigatebirds are large, with iridescent black feathers (the females have a white underbelly), with long wings (male wingspan can reach 2.3 metres) and deeply-forked tails. The males have inflatable red-coloured throat pouches, which they inflate to attract females during the mating season.

Frigatebirds are found over tropical oceans and ride warm updrafts. Therefore, they can often be spotted riding weather fronts and can signal changing weather patterns.

These birds do not swim and cannot walk well, and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week, landing only to roost or breed on trees or cliffs. They lay one or two white eggs.

Frigatebirds obtain most of their food by snatching it from the ocean surface. In this case an immature Great Frigatebird is snatching a Sooty Tern chick dropped by another frigatebird

Their feeding habits are pelagic. Frigatebirds often rob other seabirds of their catch, using their speed and manoeuvrability to outrun their victims. However, they are perfectly capable of catching fish, baby turtles and similar prey, snatching them up from flight.

Distribution and identifying characteristics differ among frigatebird species, and thus are addressed in species-specific articles.

Species

• Genus Fregata
• * Magnificent Frigatebird or Man O'War, Fregata magnificens.
• * Ascension Frigatebird, Fregata aquila.
• * Christmas Island Frigatebird, Fregata andrewsi.
• * Great Frigatebird, Fregata minor.
• * Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel.

External links

• [Frigatebird videos] on the Internet Bird Collection

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