Magnificent Frigatebird

Magnificent Frigatebird, male

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Magnificent Frigatebird, female in flight

Magnificent Frigatebird, immature, Dry Tortugas, Florida, 30 April

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A long-winged, fork-tailed bird of tropical oceans, the Magnificent Frigatebird is an agile flier that snatches food off the surface of the ocean and steals food from other birds. It breeds mostly south of the United States, but wanders northward along the coasts during nonbreeding season.

Description

• Large, dark water bird.
• Long, pointed wings with pronounced bend in middle.
• Long, forked tail.
• Short neck.
• Long, hooked bill.

• Size: 89-114 cm (35-45 in)
• Wingspan: 217-224 cm (85-88 in)
• Weight: 1000-1900 g (35.3-67.07 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male entirely black with red throat pouch. Female larger; black with large white patch across chest, three or four thin white lines in wingpits, and white patches on top of wings.

Sound

Silent away from colony. Makes clicking, wheezy, and grating calls.

Conservation Status

Populations appear to be declining, due mainly to human destruction of habitat for housing and resorts, and disturbance in colonies. Introduced predators on islands and over-fishing are also potential problems.

Other Names

Frégate superbe (French)
Tijerata de Mar, Fragata magnífica (Spanish)
Man-o'-War-bird (English)

Cool Facts

• Frigatebirds are the only seabirds where the male and female look strikingly different.
• The breeding period of the Magnificent Frigatebird is exceptionally long and young fledglings are often still being fed by the female at one year of age.

• The male Magnificent Frigatebird abandons its mate and half-grown chick and leaves the breeding colony, presumably to molt and return for another breeding attempt with a different mate. The female cares for the young for over a year. This difference in parental care allows the male to breed each year while the female breeds only every other year.

• Although the Magnificent Frigatebird spends most of its life flying over the ocean, it rarely if ever lands on the water.

Sources used to construct this page:

Diamond, A. W., and E. A. Schreiber. 2002. Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens). In The Birds of North America, No. 601 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.