Overview
Magnificent Frigatebird: Large black seabird, orange throat patch inflates into a huge bright red-orange balloon when in courtship display. Long bill is gray, hooked. Wings are long and narrow. Tail is forked; legs and feet are dark gray. Eats fish, crustaceans, jellyfish. High soaring flight.
Range and Habitat
Magnificent Frigatebird: During breeding season, found in coastal Florida and in tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In non-breeding season, occurs from the coast of North Carolina south to Florida and west to Texas; also on the coast of California. Preferred habitats include ocean coasts, bays, and islands; nests on mangrove islands.
Frigatebirds (Fregatidae)
ORDER
The order PELECANIFORMES (pronounced pel-leh-KAN-ih-FOR-meez) encompasses six families of water-loving birds such as the graceful tropicbirds, the oceanic gannets and boobies, the anhingas, and the frigatebirds.
FAMILY TAXONOMY
The Fregatidae (pronounced fre-GAH-tih-dee) family occurs in coastal waters of tropical regions and includes five species of frigatebirds that share the same genus.
NORTH AMERICA
There are three species of frigatebirds in one genus that have occurred in North America.
They are the Magnificent, Great, and Lesser Frigatebirds.
KNOWN FOR
The Magnificent Frigatebird (along with other species of this family) is most well known for harassing and stealing food from gulls, terns, and other frigatebirds while flying. This bold, kleptoparasitic behavior has earned them a nickname associated with armed ships of another time, the “Man o’ War”.
PHYSICAL
Frigatebirds are large, somewhat frightening looking birds reminiscent of a pterodactyl in shape. They have webbed feet, long, thin pointed wings, a long, forked tail, and a largish head with long, strong bill hooked at the tip. While the shape of the bill is useful for snatching prey from other birds and the surface of the water, the overall shape of frigatebirds is highly aerodynamic and makes them fantastic flyers.
COLORATION
Frigatebirds have mostly black plumage, the females and immature birds with white or brown on the head and breast. Males have a red throat patch that resembles a ball when inflated during courtship.
GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT
Birds of tropical coasts, frigatebirds in the United States are restricted to the warm waters of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. They only show up in freshwater habitats when blown inland by hurricanes.
MIGRATION
Frigatebirds do not carry out annual migrations but can forage very far out to sea and disperse long distances after the breeding season.
HABITS
Frigatebirds are very social birds rarely seen alone; after nesting in colonies, they flock together along coastlines. As befits their aerodynamic shape, frigatebirds are highly aerial in nature and use their excellent flying skills to their advantage when pursuing and harassing gulls and terns to steal their food. In flight, they snatch fish, squid, and other food items from the surface of the water and also take seabird nestlings.
CONSERVATION
Frigatebirds in North America are not threatened. The Christmas Frigatebird, though, is a highly endangered species. They are threatened by habitat degradation on land and sea, and have a small population restricted to breeding on one island.
INTERESTING FACTS
One of the species identified in North America is the Lesser Frigatebird; a species of Australian waters. Although this seabird probably arrived via hurricanes, this still doesn’t explain how it managed to get to the Americas from Australia. Although it may have hitched a ride on a boat, the amazing flight capabilities of these birds makes flying all the way from Australia a possibility.