Birds · Suliformes · Fregatidae

Great Frigatebird

Fregata minor

Least Concern

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

A large black seabird that holds its wings in a characteristic curve and spreads a long, deeply forked tail, which looks pointed when closed. The male is entirely black with green and purple sheens and a bright red gular pouch that he inflates in courtship; his feet are red. The female is black with a white throat, neck and breast, and pink legs.

Weight

1.4 kg on average

Size

1 m on average

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

Piscivore Diurnal Colonial Bird

52countries 9parks 1dive sites2same family

Fun facts

Its reputation as a pirate is qualified by the data: a study of frigatebirds robbing masked boobies calculated that at most they could obtain 40% of the food they needed, and on average only 5%. Kleptoparasitism is a supplement, not a way of life.
It cannot settle on the water: if it falls in by accident, it generally cannot take off again.
It takes advantage of tuna shoals and dolphin pods, which drive fish towards the surface, and catches flying fish in mid-air.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Pelagic waters within about 80 km of the breeding colony. It nests on the coasts and islands of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, in shrubs and trees, or on the ground where there is no vegetation, in colonies of up to several thousand birds and often shared with red-footed boobies and other frigatebirds
Sexual maturity: 5 years
Gestation / incubation: 56 days
Litter / clutch size: A single egg per season. It is seasonally monogamous and its breeding season, from mating to the end of parental care, can last up to two years: the duration of parental care is among the longest of any bird

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List (BirdLife International 2020); Ministerio del Medio Ambiente de Chile (RCE, 14.º proceso); Orta 1992; Vickery y Brooke 1994; Couve et al. 2016; Jaramillo 2005; Animalia.bio; Gmelin 1789