MAGNIFICENT FLYING MACHINES: FRIGATEBIRDS

It’s almost exactly one year since I last posted about the Magnificent Frigatebird aka Man-o-War Bird (Fregata magnificens). You can read about their courtship displays, gular pouches, nesting habits, names, uses to mankind (if any), and 10 magnificent facts about them HERE. I’ve included some truncated facts below.

Now is a good time to revisit these wonderful sky pirates, for 2 reasons. The first is that photographer Michael Vaughn has produced some outstanding images of the species. The second is that I have just watched a characteristically superb BBC David Attenborough prog showing frigatebirds robbing tropicbirds of fish – despite them being lodged in the tropicbirds’ throats (for safekeeping…). Here’s the link to the sequence.

     CLICK LOGO TO VIEW

Film clip: MF has TB by the leg & shakes it until the fish  (circled) drops out

A MAN-O-WAR GALLERY

A male in flight (a most unusual shot, taken from above)

Juveniles being delinquent

A female in flight: the white front is the invariable distinguishing feature

Maybe a bit of rivalry going on here….?

10 MAGNIFICENT FACTS ABOUT FRIGATEBIRDS

• The largest of several frigatebird species around the world
• Found in tropical and subtropical waters
• Females have white fronts – easily distinguishable from males in flight
• Adult wingspan is 7+ feet = largest wing-area / bodyweight ratio of any bird
• Can remain in flight and far out to sea for many days
• KLEPTOPARASITES – will rob other seabirds of their food
• Diet: mainly fish & squid from the water’s surface; seabird chicks
• Nest in colonies, producing a single egg every other season
• Don’t land on water, as they can’t float; and feeble at walking on land
• One of the earliest depictions of a frigatebird is by Eleazar Albin in 1737. He was a naturalist contemporary of MARK CATESBY & pre-dated AUDUBON

Albin’s Magnificent Frigatebird

Audubon’s Magnificent Frigatebird

Credits: Michael Vaughn for all photos; cartoon from Birdorable; Mr Albin and Mr Audubon for ornithological awesomeness; TV CLIP bbc.co.uk  © copyright 2009 BBC