Facts About Magnificent Frigatebird

Magnificent frigatebird is a long-winged, fork-tailed seabird found mainly in the tropical oceans. The large black bird has a long, grey hooked bill, with dark grey legs and feet. The bird was formerly known as ‘Man O’ War’, due to its habit of catching and shaking other birds, finally ending in stealing their food. Other names of the bird include Frégate superbe in French and Tijerata de Mar or Fragata magnífica in Spanish. The magnificent frigatebird is among the most graceful and agile of all birds. Apart from its normal range over the tropical Atlantic, the magnificent frigate bird is also found in Denmark, Isle of Man, Spain, England and British Columbia. The magnificent frigatebird is meant for superb flight movements. It is, however, less comfortable on the ground or water. It has short legs which make its walk a little tough and once it sits on water it is difficult for it to take a sudden flight. Read on further to find more interesting and amazing information on the magnificent frigatebird.

Fast Facts

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Pelecaniformes

Family: Fregatidae

Genus: Fregata

Species: F. magnificens

Group Name: Fleet, flotilla

Length: 89-114 cm

Wingspan: 217-224 cm

Weight: 1000-1900 g

Lifespan: 15-30 years

Diet: Fish and seabirds

Habitat: Coasts, offshore islands and seas

Age of Sexual Maturity: 9 years

Gestation Period: 53-61 days

Number of Offspring: 1 egg

Interesting & Amazing Information On Magnificent Frigatebird

Magnificent frigatebirds are the only seabirds where male and female have strikingly different looks. The males are characterized by a balloon like inflated scarlet throat pouch. They are black in color with scapular feathers producing a purple iridescence under the sunlight. Though the females are also black in terms of color, they have a white breast and lower neck sides, with a brown band on the wings and a blue eye ring.
The male magnificent frigatebird leaves its mate after breeding in search of another mate, while the female takes care of the young one. This difference in parental care allows the male to breed every year, while the female breeds only every second year.
The bird spends most of its life in flying over the ocean, due to its short legs and narrow wings, and rarely lands on water.
Though the magnificent frigatebird is silent in flight, it makes various rattling sounds at its nest.
The bird is mainly found along ocean coasts, offshore islands and bays in the tropical Atlantic, Florida, the Caribbean, Cape Verde Islands, and along the Pacific coast of the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Ecuador including the Galapagos Islands.
The main breeding habitats of the magnificent frigatebird include mangrove cays on coral reefs, deciduous trees and bushes on dry islands.
Places where these birds feed while breeding are shallow water within lagoons, coral reefs, deep oceans and out of sight land.
The bird gathers its food through a very unique method by swooping in and stealing fish from other seabirds like boobies and gannets.
The diet of this bird mainly consists of fish, squid, turtles, crabs, jellyfish, offal and crustaceans.
The magnificent frigatebird is among the only seabirds, where the sexes breed on cycles of different lengths.
This bird is 1 m long with a 2.15m wingspan.
The magnificent frigatebird has the largest wingspan in comparison to its body, making it the only bird to have such a feature. These birds can stay in the air for almost a week, without landing. Frigatebirds are expert pilots.
These birds often sleep during their flight!
Magnificent frigatebirds are seasonally monogamous, which means they do not mate with the same female the next season.
The male magnificent frigatebirds display amazing courtship skills. The males sit in groups with bloated throat pouches, clashing their beaks, waving their heads and shaking their wings, in order to attract the females flying overhead.
Parental care by frigatebirds towards their young ones is done for a very long period, in facts the longest among all birds.
A female magnificent frigatebird lays only one egg every couple of years.

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