In his journal entry for 29 September he used the word rabiforçado, modern Spanish rabihorcado or forktail. Classified in the genus Limnofregata, the three species had shorter, less-hooked bills and longer legs, and lived in a freshwater environment.Ĭhristopher Columbus encountered frigatebirds when passing the Cape Verde Islands on his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492. The oldest fossils date to the early Eocene, around 50 million years ago. Three of the five extant species of frigatebirds are widespread, (the magnificent, great and lesser frigatebirds) while two are endangered (the Christmas Island and Ascension Island frigatebirds) and restrict their breeding habitat to one small island each. The Fregatidae are a sister group to Suloidea which consists of cormorants, darters, gannets, and boobies. The duration of parental care is among the longest of any bird species frigatebirds are only able to breed every other year. A single egg is laid each breeding season. A rough nest is constructed in low trees or on the ground on remote islands. Seasonally monogamous, frigatebirds nest colonially.
Frigatebirds are referred to as kleptoparasites as they occasionally rob other seabirds for food, and are known to snatch seabird chicks from the nest. Their main prey are fish and squid, caught when chased to the water surface by large predators such as tuna. Their wings are long and pointed and can span up to 2.3 metres (7.5 ft), the largest wing area to body weight ratio of any bird.Īble to soar for weeks on wind currents, frigatebirds spend most of the day in flight hunting for food, and roost on trees or cliffs at night. Females have white underbellies and males have a distinctive red gular pouch, which they inflate during the breeding season to attract females. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked tails and long hooked bills. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, Fregata. Fregata andrewsi – Christmas frigatebirdįrigatebirds (also listed as "frigate bird", "frigate-bird", "frigate", "frigate-petrel") are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans.Fregata magnificens – Magnificent frigatebird.( Fregata magnificens) on the Galápagos Islands.
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