Man Of Wars - Bird

Man Of Wars - Bird

1. Frigatebirds rate amongst the most artful and graceful of all flying creatures. With room to stretch their wings, these large tropical seabirds are masters of flight. Whether speeding and accelerating, gliding, soaring, manoeuvring, hovering, or just playing, they are nothing short of spectacular. 

2. Their feeding strategies are dramatic, including piratical chasing and harrying of other seabirds, aerial pursuit-catching of flying fish, and hovering to pick up shoaling bait fish. 

3. And their courtship displays, with clusters of males inflating their giant red gular sacs, vibrating their bills and wings at females flying overhead, are truly something to behold. 

4. They are spectacular birds to watch, no matter what they are doing. 

5. Frigatebirds got their name because their large wings are reminiscent of the sails on ships. They are also called Man ’O Wars because they steal food from other birds.  

6. Frigatebirds are large, black birds, approximately the size of a hen. They can have wingspans of up to 7.5 feet. The tail of the frigatebird is forked, which allows it to maneuver very well in flight. Their beaks are hooked at the tip, which helps it to catch fish. Male frigatebirds have a red gular sac (at the throat) which they can inflate like a balloon. 

7. The birds have a bare-skinned throat pouch, which in courting males becomes bright red and is inflated, for display purposes, to the size of a person's head. 

8. Other distinguishing characteristics are the almost helpless tiny feet with four webbed toes, and a long hooked bill that is used in attacking and robbing other seabirds of their fish. 

9. With its huge size, long, pointed wings and forked tail the frigatebird is instantly recognizable even at long distances. It is most often seen soaring over coastal areas and will often soar for hours on updrafts, stay at sea all night or even days. 

10. Both the Magnificent and Great frigatebirds are found in most tropical oceans in the world. The magnificent frigatebird is found in the Caribbean, and along the coasts of north and south America. 

11. Frigatebirds are mostly pelagic, which means that they live over the open ocean. They breed and nest mostly on islands, where the threat of predators is less. They build nests in low shrubs and small trees 

12. Frigate birds lack sufficient preening oil on their feathers to make the outfit waterproof. In addition, their web-less feet are too short and too small-virtually useless for swimming or for taking off from the water. Since great frigate birds cannot afford to get their wings wet, they need to find alternative means to gather food. Fortunately, they are superb flyers. 

13. Frigatebirds get their food in three ways: surface dipping, kleptoparasitism, and opportunism. For surface dipping, the birds fly over the surface of the ocean, and dip out fish.

14. Frigate birds can also get food by kleptoparasitism, which occurs when the frigate bird steals food from other birds. The frigatebird will fly close to a bird of a different species, such as a booby, and harass it until the other bird disgorges its food.

15. Opportunism refers to the fact that frigate birds will take advantage of many food opportunities. They have been known to eat unattended chicks and sea turtle hatchlings.  They have also become good at getting food from human activities, such as fishing boats.

16. Juvenile frigatebirds sit waiting for their parents to deliver their food for endless hours in the hot sun. 

17. They assume an energy-efficient posture in which their head hangs down, and  they sit so still that they seem dead. 

18. Westerners thought of the Frigate Bird as a bad omen; the Tahitians saw it as an embodiment of the war god 'Oro.

19. Frigatebirds are the only seabirds where the male and female look strikingly different.

20. Male frigate birds have red throat pouches. During breeding season, males puff out their throat pouches with air until they look like red, heart-shaped balloons. They also make clicking and drumming noises. The bigger the pouch, the deeper the drumming sound the bird makes. Great frigatebirds make a “gobble” sound, similar to a turkey, while magnificent frigatebirds make a “rattle” or “drum” sound Males also extend their wings and vibrate them to help attract attention.

21. Female frigatebirds choose mates based on the size of the male’s red throat pouch. Females fly overhead, looking at the groups of males. When the female chooses one, she lands and makes corresponding twittering noises, and both she and the male will shake their heads.

22. Frigate birds are monogamous each breeding season, and only lay one egg each season Males assist females in caring for the chick, until the chick is between 18 and 160 days old. 

23. Because of the extensive care involved in raising a chick, frigate birds do not reproduce every year. However, they have very long life expectancies, so this reproductive strategy is efficient.