Magnificent frigatebird

The magnificent frigatebird is a big seabird of warm ocean waters. It is the largest of the frigatebirds, about 89 to 114 centimetres long, with a wingspan of 2.17 to 2.44 metres. It lives along the coasts of the Americas, on the Galápagos Islands and on the Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic.

It has long narrow wings, a deeply forked tail and a very light body, so it can glide for a long time and is one of the fastest birds, reaching up to 153 kilometres per hour. Males have a red throat sac that they blow up like a balloon to attract a mate. Frigatebirds mostly catch fish, often flying fish, from the sea surface while flying, and they sometimes chase other birds until they give up their food.

How does it find food?

A frigatebird does not swim or dive. It snatches fish from the surface of the sea as it flies by, and flying fish are a favourite. It also practises kleptoparasitism, a long word for stealing: it harasses other seabirds in the air until they cough up their catch, then grabs the food. Its light body and huge wings let it stay in the air with very little effort, which helps it search wide stretches of ocean.

Why does the male puff up his throat?

The male has a bare red throat sac, called a gular sac. During courtship he inflates it into a large, bright red balloon to show off to females. The female is a little larger than the male and has a white breast and belly. There are two subspecies: one nests on the Galápagos Islands, and another breeds on islands off Mexico and Central America, in the tropical Atlantic and in the Cape Verde islands. Scientists split them in 2022 after finding that the Galápagos birds are genetically and physically different.

On the globe

The toy model shows the frigatebird over the sea with its long wings and forked tail. Look for the red throat pouch.