Frigate Bird

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Anyone who has visited our beautiful Bay has, at one time or another, seen a Magnificent frigate bird although many didn't know what they were looking at.

These awesome pterodactyl looking birds can be seen hovering in circles near the coast and over islands and beaches.

There are 5 species of Frigate birds world wide, the Great frigate bird being the most common for it's wider distribution Here however, we have the Magnificent frigate bird (Fregata magnificens).

These latter are found usually along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas and the Caribbean. Just like with the Boobies, the two species of Frigates, even though they may reside in a same area, will not compete for food as the Great frigate birds will forage for food further out over the ocean while the Magnificent frigate birds will stay closer to shore.

How did they get their name? Well, just like the frigate ships the pirates used, they are fast and maneuver quite impressively. And just like the pirates, they can be thieves. Although these birds are quite good at fishing, they produce very little oil and therefore, landing in water can be risky for them. Once wet, they are weighed down and because they have up to a 7.5 foot (2.2 meters) wingspan, getting out of the water can be a challenge. For this reason, they seem to prefer pestering other birds such as Boobies and other of their own kind, causing them to spiral around in the sky, until the other bird is so upset as to disgorge its catch. The Frigate will then drop with amazing speed and catch the dropped food in mid air or just pluck it off the water or land. The same blob of food may change mouths, or should we say beaks, many times before being finally swallowed for good...Yuk! Glad I'm not a Frigate bird. Their menu consists of fish, squid, and even other unattended chicks and sea turtle hatchlings just to name a few.

Frigate birds build their nests in low lying shrubs and produce only one single egg. Both parents take turns feeding the chick for the first 3 months, then the female continues on her own for the next 8 months. Wow, that's 11 months! For this reason, it's not unusual to see a chick, almost the same size as its parents, cry while waiting for food. With these birds, it is quite easy to distinguish males from females and even the juveniles are easily identified. The males are completely black (although their shoulder feathers will give off a purple shimmer under the sun) with a bright red patch of skin under their chin called a gular sac. During courtship, a male will sit and blow air into this sac causing it to inflate over a period of approximately 20 minutes. This startling red balloon is spectacular, especially considering that many males usually display it at the same time. Then the males sit quietly in the low shrubs, and wait for a female to fly overhead. When she does, the male will waggle its head from side to side, shake its wings and call.

If the female finds him attractive enough, she will land and sit next to her prince charming.

The females are identified by their white breasts and the juveniles, have white heads and white breasts. So now, you can show off to your friends and let them know the sex of the bird flying overhead or even tell them that its actually a young immature bird, a Magnificent frigate bird of course!

There are many wonders in this world. One only needs to look around to see such beautiful displays of adaptation and survival.

"Nature could be such a wonderful teacher if only we saw it for what it really is" ~ Monachí.

We take this opportunity to invite you to witness these wonders with us. We specialize in small groups and take pride in our personalized, informative, quality service. We offer an array of outdoor low impact activities to suit your needs and desires. Your participation will contribute to the conservation of these important natural resources.