male; black body; long wings; forked tail (Galapagos, Ecuador; 2005-06-02)
|
Magnificent Frigatebird
Fregata magnificens
Native Range:
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Notes: a bird that lives up to its name by being one of nature's most awesome flying machines; kleptoparasitic, meaning that it steals food from other seabirds; often soars seemingly effortlessly for hours on end, much like a graceful glider airplane and coveing vast distances; builds stick nests in colonies; male has an inflatable bright red gular pouch that he uses in courtship displays to impress females.
|
male on nest, with deflated gular pouch (Galapagos, Ecuador; 2005-06-02)
|
male in flight showing inflated pouch (Florida, USA; 2007-12-26)
|
female; white breast but otherwise black all over (Panama; 2008-05-24)
|
couple; male with fully inflated pouch (Galapagos, Ecuador; 2005-06-02)
|
juvenile; white head as well as breast (Galapagos, Ecuador; 2005-06-02)
|
juvenile in flight; note the glider-plane look (Florida, USA; 2007-12-23)
|
juvenile posing for a portrait (Galapagos, Ecuador; 2005-06-02) |
female in flight (Dominican Republic; 2006-12-13) |
female flying (Dominican Republic; 2006-12-13) |
female still flying (Dominican Republic; 2006-12-13) |
another view of female in flight (Dominican Republic; 2006-12-13) |
|