Magnificent Frigatebird

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)

Magnificent Frigatebird

Order : Pelecaniformes
A diverse group of aquatic birds that fall into three suborders; Pelicani (Pelicans, Darters, Cormorants and Boobies) Fregatae ( Frigate birds ) and Phaethones ( Tropic birds). All are fairly large birds and all have webbed feet. Each suborder then having specialized adaptations for the different ways of life, the Frigatebird never alighting on water while the Anhinga swims underwater for extended periods of time.

Family : Frigatebirds (Fregatidae)
There are only five species in the order Fregatidae, and only one genera Fregata, as all are very closely related. They are large all black, or black and white birds, with long wings and forked tails. The males having coloured inflatable throat patches. They are incapable of swimming and do not walk. They are also incapable of taking off from a flat surface. The are essentially aerial birds, spending all day on the wing and only landing to roost or breed on cliff edges or in trees. Frigatebirds often steal fish, their main diet, from other sea birds or from each other in flight, using their speed, manoeuvrability and size to force there victim to drop their catch, which the Frigatebird then plummets to retrieve. Their long bill is adapted to snatching fish or small sea turtles near the surface of the water.

Name : Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)
Length : 95 - 110 cm ( 37 - 43 in )
Local Names : Man o’ War Bird

Nesting in low trees on remote undisturbed Islands, the Frigatebird lays one white egg and both parents attend to the nest. The Orange - red inflatable patch is used by the male to attract it’s mate. Egg laying occurs usually between October to December, but because of the slow growth of the young, colonies may be occupied throughout most of the year. With it’s large wingspan (in excess of 2 meters or 7 feet ) the Frigatebird is easy to identify either gliding high above the Island, or swooping low to snatch fish from the surface of the water. The Frigatebird can often be seen at close quarters around the Island when fishermen bring in their catch, joining Seagulls in a mad rush to grab the scraps thrown back into the sea, usually in groups of between 12 to 50 individuals.


#Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens Man o’ War Bird Frigatebirds Fregatae Fregatidae Pelecaniformes aquatic birds seabirds sea bird Birds of the West Indies Caribbean birds birds birds of Tobago


Bird identification photos

Brown Noddy

Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus)

Brown Noddy

Order : Charadriiformes
This is a diverse order which includes about 350 species of birds in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes are strong flyers, some species performing the most extensive migration of any birds. Most live near water and eat invertebrates or other similar small animals and most nest on the ground. the order is split into 3 main suborders; Charadrii (about 200 species including Sandpipers, Plovers and Lapwings ), Lari ( about 92 species including Gulls, Turns, Skimmers and Jaegers), and Alcidae ( about 21 species including Auks, Guillemots and Puffins)

Family : Gulls and Turns (Laridae)
The Laridae family compromises two distinct subfamilies Lari (Gulls) and Sterninae (Turns). Gulls account for over 40 species, and are heavily built web footed scavengers that take insects, molluscs, crustaceans, fish and garbage from beaches and shorelines, worms and grubs from fields, and some will even take eggs and chicks of other birds including their own. Turns account for about 40 species of slender water birds that often form large breeding colonies nesting on the ground on remote Islands sometimes numbering millions of individuals. Many Terns are long distance migrants covering thousands of kilometres in just a few days.

Name :Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus)
Length : 37 - 38 cm ( 15 in )
Local Names : Egg Bird, Blackbird

This dark Tern occurs throughout the Caribbean, one of the largest concentrations being some 2 - 4,000 pairs that breed in the Virgin Islands. As it’s name suggests it is brown all over with a grey to white forehead and crown, and darker wing tips and tail, which is wedge shaped. Immature are whitish on the forehead only. The Brown Noody nests in trees, on the ground, or on bare rock or cliff edges, the nest is either a shallow depression or a rough nest of twigs where a single egg is laid. It spends most of it’s time off shore where it feeds on fish taken at the surface.

#Brown Noddy #Anous stolidus #Turn #Laridae #Sterninae #Charadriiformes #Lari #Egg Bird #Blackbird #Sea Birds #seabirds #Caribbean #birds #birds of Tobago

Bird identification pictures