Fregata magnificens

• Overview
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Overview

The Frigatebird spends much of its time on the wing, gliding or flapping gracefully. Its feathered wingspread is about 7 feet. The pneumatic skeleton with its air cavities weighs about 4 ounces , which is less than the weight of its feathers .

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Fregatidae

Five closely related species with large bodies, iridescent black feathers , and deeply forked tails. Males have inflatable red throat pouches. They do not swim , walk with difficulty, but are fabulous in flight, and can stay aloft for more than a week. Frigatebirds have the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird.

Physical Description

Habitat

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, coastal waters, freshwater marshes, pelagic waters, tropical lowland evergreen forest, mangrove forests • Foraging Strata: Water • Center of Abundance: Lower tropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; tropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: High

Typically found in the intertidal zone at the water's edge at a mean distance from sea level of -231 meters (-759 feet).Standard Deviation = 978.190 based on 2,959 observations. Terrestrial altitude and ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Ecology:
List of Habitats :1.7Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level 9.1Marine Neritic - Pelagic 10.1Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)

Biology

Diet

Fish and aquatic invertebrates .

Reproduction

• Clutch Size: 1
• Days to Fledge : 170
• Number of Broods: 1

Migration

Nonmigratory

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

Great Frigatebird

Members of the genus Fregata

There are approximately 20 species in this genus:

F. andrewsi (Andrew's Frigatebird) · F. aquila (Ascension Frigatebird) · F. aquilus · F. ariel (Lesser Frigatebird) · F. ariel ariel · F. ariel iredalei · F. ariel trinitatis · F. magnificens (Magnificent Frigatebird) · F. magnificens lowei · F. magnificens magnificens (Magnificent Frigatebird) · F. magnificens rothschildi (Magnificent Frigatebird) · F. minor (Great Frigatebird) · F. minor aldabrensis · F. minor minor · F. minor nicolli · F. minor palmerstoni (Great Frigatebird) · F. minor ridgewayi (Great Frigatebird) · F. minor ridgwayi · F. minor ssp · F. strumosa

Bibliography

• Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America - Eastern Region. First American Edition. Smithsonian Handbooks. DK Publishing, Inc. 2001.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner 1987. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C., USA. 79.
• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
• Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. (info on clutch size, length of incubation, days to fledge and number of broods.)
• Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. (Length and wingspan info.)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 3, 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 03, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 12 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.
• Ocean Biogeographic Information System. Accessed February 27, 2006. www.iobis.org
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, "Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds," in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 03, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum: Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• EMAN Provider: PIROP (Shipboard Surveys)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: SEAMAP - marine mammals, birds and turtles
• Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Ornithology Collection
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• UCLA-Dickey Bird Collection (UCLA-Dickey): Bird specimens
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3851874
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-174765
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13820644
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 174763
• IUCN ID: 49663
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABNFF01010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 178002

Footnotes

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