Home Application Download FAQ
English
English
繁體中文
日本語
Español
Français
Deutsch
Pусский
Português
Italiano
한국어
Nederlands
العربية

Great Frigatebird

A species of Frigatebirds
Scientific name : Fregata minor Genus : Frigatebirds

Great Frigatebird, A species of Frigatebirds
Botanical name: Fregata minor
Genus: Frigatebirds
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) Photo By silversea_starsong , used under CC-BY-NC-4.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Description

The great frigatebird measures 85 to 105 cm (33 to 41 in) in length and has a wingspan of 205–230 cm (81–91 in). Male great frigatebirds are smaller than females, but the extent of the variation varies geographically. The male birds weigh 1,000–1,450 g (2.20–3.20 lb) while the heavier female birds weigh 1,215–1,590 g (2.679–3.505 lb). Frigatebirds have long narrow pointed wings and a long narrow deeply forked tail. They have the highest ratio of wing area to body mass and the lowest wing loading of any bird. This has been hypothesized to enable the birds to use marine thermals created by small differences between tropical air and water temperatures. The plumage of males is black with scapular feathers that have a green iridescence when they refract sunlight. Females are black with a white throat and breast and have a red eye ring. Juveniles are black with a rust-tinged white face, head, and throat.
Size
94-97 cm (37-38 in)
Colors
Black
Green
Red
White
Life Expectancy
34 years
Feeding Habits
Great Frigatebird predominantly feed on flying fish and squid, caught mid-flight or near the surface. They exploit predator-induced fish swarms and occasionally prey on seabird chicks. Although great Frigatebird practice kleptoparasitism, it's a minor dietary supplement rather than a mainstay.
Habitat
Great Frigatebird predominantly reside in tropical and subtropical oceanic regions. Their habitat includes small, remote islands where they breed in colonies, often nesting in mangroves like Rhizophora and Bruguiera, as well as in bushes such as Scaevola. Sometimes, they may nest on bare ground. These birds are pelagic, feeding in warm oceanic waters over 22°C, typically within 80 km of their nesting or roosting site. Despite their ability to venture far from their breeding grounds, great Frigatebird exhibit strong site fidelity, often returning to their natal colonies for breeding.
Dite type
Piscivorous

General Info

Distribution Area

The great frigatebird has a wide distribution throughout the world's tropical seas. Hawaii is the northernmost extent of their range in the Pacific Ocean, with around 10,000 pairs nesting mostly in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In the Central and South Pacific, colonies are found on most islands groups from Wake Island to the Galapagos to New Caledonia with a few pairs nesting on Australian possessions in the Coral Sea. Colonies are also found on numerous Indian Ocean islands including Aldabra, Christmas Island, the Maldives and Mauritius. The Atlantic population, restricted to Trindade and Martin Vaz, is very small. Great frigatebirds undertake regular migrations across their range, both regular trips and more infrequent widespread dispersals. Birds marked with wing tags on Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals were found to regularly travel to Johnston Atoll (873 km), one was reported in Quezon City in the Philippines. One male great frigatebird relocated from Europa Island in the Mozambique Channel to the Maldives 4400 km away for four months, where it fed on rich fishing grounds. Despite their extended range, birds also exhibit philopatry, breeding in their natal colony even if they travel to other colonies.

Species Status

Not globally threatened.
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) Photo By silversea_starsong , used under CC-BY-NC-4.0 /Cropped and compressed from original

Scientific Classification

Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download