| Species Details [Taxonomy: HBW - BirdLife (v3)] |
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Lesser Frigatebird* |
Id (Atlas): |
095 |
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Fregata ariel |
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Description (10)
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Lesser Frigatebird
© thainationalparks.com
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Male: Glossy black with inflatible scarlet throat-sac. Upper wing-coverts, brown bar. Bill, grey. Eye-ring, black. Feet, black or reddish-brown.
Female: Throat, black. Upper breast, white. Rear collar, white, extending in white spurs on underwing. Abdomen, black. Bill, greyish. Eye-ring, red. Feet, red or pinkish.
Immatures: Breast, black. Abdomen, white extending a little into wings. Wing-coverts, pale brown. Head and neck, deep ginger. Under wings, black.
Downy Young: Naked at first, then white downed. Bill, white. Feet, white.
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Other Names (World)
Lesser Frigatebird, Least Frigatebird, Man-o'-war Hawk
Family
Fregatidae (Frigatebirds)
Size
70 - 80 cm
First Described (Guide)
(Gray, 1845)
Derivation
Frë-ga’-ta - N.L., from Fr. fregate, frigate: ariel - Ariel, a fairy; Gk, aerios, airy
Abundance (Guide)
LA
Common in northern Australia.
Habitat
Tropical and sub-tropical seas, coastlines and islands.
Australia, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, China (mainland), Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands (B), Comoros, Fiji, French Polynesia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives (B), Marshall Islands (NB), Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Nauru (NB), New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Palau (NB), Philippines, Réunion (B), Seychelles (B), Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Timor-Leste (NB), Tonga, United States Minor Outlying Islands (NB), USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna Islands.
Vagrant to Djibouti, Eritrea, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Mozambique, New Zealand, Oman, Somalia.
Unknown to Guam.
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Widespread in tropical Atlantic, Indain and Pacific Oceans.
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Breeds at several islands in the Coral Sea, along the Great Barrier Reef, along the coast of northern Australia west to Bedout Island, WA.
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Rarity Status
View Rarity Status Information
Population
Estimated population is 200,000 (2010).
Status LC
Secure.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Food
Young turtles, fish, cuttle-fish. Feeding is usually from the surface of the water but will often steal prey from other birds.
Voice
Male on nest grunts and rattles its bill. Both sexes cackle in greeting. Sharp drawn-out ‘kikikik’ from supplicant nestlings.
Breeding Season (Guide)
April – July.
Nest
Bulky, composed of sticks, grass and other herbage, placed on the ground or on the top of a low bush.
Eggs (Guide)
1 occasionally 2; white, with a slight coating of lime; ellipsoidal; 64 x 44 mm. Incubation: about 41 days; both sexes, in shifts.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fed by boths parents by incomplete regurgitation.
Subspecies
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
- ariel (Gray, 1845) - Central and eastern Indian Ocean, Australia, western and south-western Pacific Ocean.
- iredalei Mathews, 1914 - Western Indian Ocean.
- trinitatis Miranda-Ribeiro, 1919 - Southern Atlantic Ocean.
Similar Species
Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor).
References
See References.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
Files:
BirdLife International
For more information about the Lesser Frigatebird see...  BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
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