Magnificent frigate bird

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Magnificent frigate bird
male magnificent frigate bird (Fregata magnificens) with an inflated throat pouch

male magnificent frigate bird ( Fregata magnificens ) with an inflated throat pouch

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Suliformes
Family : Frigate birds (Fregatidae)
Genre : Frigate birds ( Fregata )
Type : Magnificent frigate bird
Scientific name
Fregata magnificens
Mathews , 1914

The magnificent frigate bird ( Fregata magnificens ) is a species from the order Suliformes .

In Europe, the magnificent frigate bird is a very rare exceptional guest, which may be drifted to the European coasts by hurricanes. Observations are available from Great Britain in 1998 and Denmark in 1968, among others.

features

Magnificent frigatebird chicks
Immature magnificent frigate bird
Magnificent frigatebird Galápagos Islands
female magnificent frigate bird
Fregata magnificens

The magnificent frigate bird is up to 102 cm long, has a wingspan of 217 to 229 cm and a weight of 1.1 to 1.6 kg. It has a long, deeply forked tail. The narrow and long, wide open and angled wings have the shape of an open "W". The plumage is mostly shiny black, only the female has a white band on the underside. The plumage of the young bird is white on the head and underside, and brown-black on the upper side with sandy-brown dots. The adult plumage is only reached after four to six years. The male has a red throat pouch which it inflates like a balloon during courtship . The legs remain short and the four toes are connected by small webbed feet and have strong claws. With his weak legs he cannot walk, he can only hold on to branches. Its plumage does not repel much water, so it almost never swims. He flies acrobatic aerial maneuvers and can sail for hours. It can live up to 26 years.

Occurrence

The magnificent frigatebird lives on the American Pacific coast from Baja California to Ecuador including the Galapagos Islands and on the Atlantic coast from Florida to southern Brazil . There are relic populations in the Western Palearctic, including on the Cape Verde Islands . The population is only estimated at ten individuals.

The Galapagos Islands population may be a distinct species, according to a study by scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Missouri-St. Louis suggests. The common frigate birds in the Galapagos have lived in isolation for several 100,000 years and are genetically and morphologically so different from their relatives outside the Galapagos that special protection efforts are necessary. In view of these results, the current population in the Galapagos of around 1000 breeding pairs appears to be relatively low.

Reproduction

During courtship the males sit on branches and show the inflated throat pouch with loud shouts. Both partners share nest building, brood and young feeding. The nest is on mangrove trees, bushes or cacti, more rarely on the ground. A single white egg is incubated for 40-50 days. After five to six months, the young bird is fully fledged, but is fed for another five to seven months.

food

The magnificent frigate bird feeds on fish and octopus, which it catches in flight on the surface of the water. It attacks other seabirds in flight until they choke out their just made catch and catches the dropped prey in flight. On land, he preyed on young turtles as well as eggs and chicks.

supporting documents

literature

  • National Geographic Society: Field Guide to the birds of North America. 4th fully rev. and updated Ed., 2002, ISBN 0-7922-6877-6

Web links

Commons : Magnificent Frigatebird  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Single receipts

  1. ↑ a b Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds of Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds , Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 , p. 226
  2. ↑ Frank Hailer, EA Schreiber, Joshua M Miller, Iris I Levin, Patricia G Parker, R Terry Chesser, Robert C Fleischer. Long-term isolation of a highly mobile seabird on the Galapagos. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 2011, 278 (1707): 817-825, doi : 10.1098 / rspb.2010.1342 Abstract