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are large and predominately
black seabirds with a long and hooked bill and are admired
for their agile flight. They belong to the family of
Fregatidae in the order of Pelecaniformes and there are
five species worldwide, all of them are very similar in appearance.
As a rare exception to seabirds however, there are marked
differences in the sexes, with males almost entirely black
with a red inflatable pouch below their bill and
females missing that and also showing white patches on its
under parts. In Ecuador and Galapagos exist two species, the
Magnificent and Great Frigatebird. |
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Frigatebirds have a very long bill with a
pronounced hook at the end for snatching prey out of the
water or catching flying fish. Missing waterproof
feathers, they cannot immerse themselves into water. To
complement their meals, they steal prey from other
birds like boobies by harassing them in the air till the
victims regurgitate their catch from their crop dropping it
consequently. Being such agile flyers, frigates then swoop
down and catch it in midair, juggling it further so they can
swallow it. |
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Frigatebirds appear fairly large with a wingspan of over 2m but
they are very light, weighing no more than 1.5 kg. Thus
they have a high aspect ratio but at the same a low
wing loading (Magnificent Frigatebird has the lowest of any
bird) and are excellent flyers. Their long and forked tail adds
to their agility in the air by
being used for breaking and sharp
flight turns. Among the old seafarers those birds were also known as Man-o'-War Birds or Pirates
of the Sea because of their kleptoparasitic ways. |
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It is
easy enough to identify males, females and young birds of both species.
The males are completely black with the red inflatable pouch.
Immature
birds of both species have a white head and under parts (photo top right) and
females have
a white breast (photo top left).
But it is more difficult to see the difference between the two
species. The male Magnificent Frigatebird is a little bit larger and has
a purple sheen to it (photo bottom left) whereas the Great Frigatebird has a
greenish sheen
(photo bottom right). |
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At the time of breeding the males sit in the shrubs (photo
of Great taken on Genovesa) and try to attract the females
overflying those sites. To do that they inflate their red
pouches, spread their wings and look skywards making vibrating
sounds. Once a female sees one she likes, she descends and after
some pair bonding rituals, they start to build a nest. Male
gather the sticks and females construct the simple nests. Great
Frigatebirds nest on some Galapagos islands whereas Magnificent
also nests on Isla de la Plata and Santa Clara. |
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Female
Frigatebirds lay one egg and both sexes incubate for
about 1and 1/2 months. At that time they guard also intently
their nests, never leaving it alone as eggs and even young
chicks are vulnerable to predation by other frigatebirds.
The altricial chicks are covered with a white down at hatching
and are fed by both parents. Often the young are taken care of
for more than
a year by their parents.
As that takes
so long the time periods between broods
can be up to 4 years. |
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Frigatebirds are often seen accompanying fishing trawlers in the
hope of snatching some fish. |
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ECUADORIAN SPECIES : |
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Name |
Scientific |
Location |
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Magnificient Frigatebird |
Fregata magnificens |
Galapagos & Pacific Coast |
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Great Frigatebird |
Fregata minor |
Galapagos & Pacific Coast |
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Birding Vocabulary |
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Kleptoparasitic:
birds stealing food from other individual bird species, like
frigatebirds robbing boobies, gulls from pelicans, jaegers... |
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