Birds · Suliformes · Fregatidae

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

It has the most efficient wing-area-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, which lets it stay airborne for days on end without settling on the water — its feathers are not waterproof.

Weight

1 kg – 1.9 kg

Size

89 cm – 1.1 m

Lifespan

30 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanIslandsCarnivore Diurnal Colonial Bird Ocean Islands

38countries 13parks 2dive sites2same family

Fun facts

The male inflates his striking red throat pouch like a balloon in courtship.
It feeds on fish, squid, jellyfish and crustaceans, often robbed in mid-air from other seabirds.
Raising a single chick can take a whole year, one of the longest breeding cycles of any bird.
reproducciónMales inflate the red pouch beneath their throat into a gleaming balloon to attract females in the breeding season.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird), proportionally the lightest skeleton of any bird relative to its wingspan
Habitat & environment: Tropical and subtropical coasts of the Americas, from Mexico and Florida to Brazil and Peru, the Galápagos and Cape Verde included
Birth weight: Weight at hatching not found as a precise figure
Sexual maturity: ~5 years
Gestation / incubation: 50-56 days
Litter / clutch size: 1 egg per clutch

Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Dimensions.com; Animal Diversity Web; NHPBS NatureWorks; Birds of the World; All About Birds (Cornell Lab); Animalia.bio; Wikipedia (Magnificent frigatebird); Audubon Field Guide