Pirate-Birds: Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds

Where to Find Frigatebirds in the Galapagos

You can see frigatebirds all over the islands Galapagos Islands. There are a couple of places in particular that are perfect to see them in action: Genovesa, North Seymour, and San Cristobal Islands. They’re great places to observe great and magnificent frigate birds. Especially in the highlands of San Cristobal, there is a freshwater lake where many frigatebirds go to wash the salt water off of their wings. They dive down to the surface of the icy water of the volcanic crater lake for a brief moment before swerving back up into the air. This act of bathing actually helps keeps the birds’ wings from becoming saturated and filled with salt after they’ve come into contact with ocean water.

If you are particularly attentive (and particularly lucky!) you may get the chance to see a frigatebird trying out kleptoparasitism. In any case, it’s always a beautiful opportunity to watch these graceful birds flying through the air. The Galapagos is a birdwatcher’s paradise like no other! In the islands, you have a chance of viewing magnificent birds and other wildlife unlike in any other part of the world!

Get ready for the vacation of a lifetime with Yacht Isabela II’s Galapagos tours!

Interesting facts about Frigatebirds

Frigatebirds are coastal birds, but they don’t like diving into the water. Unlike other seabirds like boobies or pelicans, the frigatebird’s wings are not water-resistant. This limitation causes them to take extreme measures: Frigatebirds are infamous for stealing food from other birds in the air.

Because of this behavior, frigatebirds are compared to pirates. The word frigate actually refers to a kind of vessel that was commonly used by pirates. When animals steal food from other animals, this is called kleptoparasitism.

Frigatebirds are actually very skilled fliers. They have forked tails and broad wingspans that give them extra agility in the air. This is how they are able to outmaneuver birds like boobies and tropicbirds in the fight for food.

There are two species of Frigate Birds, and they live side-by-side: The magnificent frigate is more pelagic (foraging for fish out at sea for long periods of time). The great frigate is more coastal (they catch most of their food up in the air by robbing other seabirds).

Both Great and Magnificent birds are large blackbirds. The males are identifiable by their iconic, red leathery throat pouch (also called “red gular sac”). And it takes around a half-hour for these sacks to inflate. Great frigate males inflate a shorter gular sac, but of a warmer red color. Additionally, male great frigatebirds have a green sheen on their shoulder plumage. Magnificent male frigatebirds have a purple sheen.

Galapagos Frigatebird With Inflated Red Gular Sac
Galapagos Frigatebirds Can Inflate Their Red Gular Sacs.

Furthermore, magnificent frigate females haves a black triangle of feathers running down from the base of the chin to the center of their white chests. As a result, a white “M” is visible from below. Great frigate females have white all the way up their chins.

Males inflate this red pouch as a courtship display intended to attract the female. If the male is fortunate enough to be selected amongst a crowd of other males doing the same, the female will fly down and partake in the mating ritual with that specific one.

In this video you can see how the courting process occurs between female and male frigates:


Video source: BBC

Make sure to ask your naturalist guide about other fascinating facts about all of the Galapagos Big15 wildlife you will see on your expedition cruise!

Updated:May 8, 2023

Published:February 3, 2017

CALL US TODAY

Machu Picchu & Galapagos Islands Tour 2024 Package: 12 days / Quito, Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu / From USD 9,598 per person

SHARE THIS POST

RELATED POSTS

TravelandLeisure.com

Condé Nast Traveler ONLINE

This small, secret rooftop of the restored Casa Gangotena mansion peers over Plaza San Francisco in the center of Quito’s colonial Old Town, the world’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Order a Cedrón Spritz, a refreshing mix of rum, lemon, sparkling wine, and fresh lemon verbena (cedrón) syrup and leaf, then revel in the mesmerizing, real-time montage of daily life in Ecuador’s capital as it parades past.

National Geographic Traveller

A Font of information, Klaus has spent decades in the field, leading tours in the Amazon, Andes and Galapagos Islands. He hung up his guiding boots a few years back and now creates itineraries for the tour operator, Metropolitan Touring. Adrift in the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles from mainland South America, Galapagos is one of the most biodiverse locales on Earth.

Cruise Critic

Santa Cruz II is a replacement for the much-loved Santa Cruz, which plied the waters of the Galapagos for 36 years. It is not a new ship; it was built in 2002 and sailed as Mare Australis under the Australis cruise brand, operating expedition cruises around Cape Horn and to Antarctica. Metropolitan Touring bought the ship in 2015 and completely refurbished it, launching it as Santa Cruz II in October 2015.

Telegraph Ultra Travel: 50 Greatest Hotels in the World

When this modern, minimalist, glass-walled jungle lodge opened in 2012, it changed the accommodation game in South America. Arquitect Alfredo Ribadeneira’s “protective cocoon” would impress in a modern city; in the depths of an Andean cloudforest, it is wild, audacious and beautiful. Though only 70 miles from Quito, Maspi Lodge sits in splendid isolation, perched on a cliff at the end of an unsealed road.

Terms and Conditions

Itinerario de 5 días / 4 noches: Basado en la tarifa regular (4214 USD + impuestos por persona)
Itinerario de 7 días / 6 noches: Basado en la tarifa regular (5672 USD + impuestos por persona)
No reembolsable. Aplica únicamente para residentes ecuatorianos en nuevas reservas directas realizadas, hasta el 30 de junio del 2022, con un ejecutivo de ventas del hotel. Válido para estadías hasta el 31 de agosto de 2022. No puede ser combinada con otros descuentos, promociones u ofertas. El descuento no aplica para otros servicios. El precio no incluye recargo de combustible de $20 por noche de crucero.

We have what you are looking for!