Birds · Suliformes · Fregatidae

Lesser Frigatebird

Fregata ariel

Least Concern

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

The smallest of the five frigatebirds in the world. A lightly built seabird, with blackish-brown plumage, long narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. The male has a striking red gular pouch that he inflates to attract a female; the female is somewhat larger than the male and has a white breast and belly.

Weight

754 g – 858 g

Size

75 cm on average

Lifespan

25 years

Diet

Piscivore

Feeds mainly on fish.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanIslandsPiscivore Diurnal Colonial Bird Ocean Islands

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Fun facts

It is the smallest of the five frigatebirds, at about 75 cm against the well over a metre of the great frigatebird.
Like all frigatebirds, it takes fish in flight from the surface of the sea, often flying fish, without ever settling on the water.
It was described in 1845 from a specimen collected on Raine Island, in Queensland, under the original name Atagen ariel.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and also off the Atlantic coast of Brazil. It nests in colonies, in low trees or on the ground of remote islands
Birth weight: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Size at birth: Born naked and blind; it depends on its parents for many months
Sexual maturity: 5-7 years
Gestation / incubation: ~44 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: A single egg per breeding season, as in the rest of the frigatebirds