Magnificent frigatebird

Magnificent frigatebird
Male Fregata magnificens magnificens with inflated gular sac, Española, Galápagos
Female Fregata magnificens rothschildi, Panama
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Suliformes
Family:	Fregatidae
Genus:	Fregata
Species:	F. magnificens
Binomial name
Fregata magnificens Mathews, 1914
Subspecies
F. m. magnificens Mathews, 1914 F. m. rothschildi Mathews, 1915
Range map

The magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), frigate petrel^[2] or man o' war^[3] is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. With a length of 89–114 centimetres (2 ft 11 in – 3 ft 9 in) and wingspan of 2.17–2.44 m (7 ft 1 in – 8 ft 0 in) it is the largest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters off America, between northern Mexico and Perú on the Pacific coast and between Florida and southern Brazil along the Atlantic coast.^[1] There are also populations on the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific and the Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic. It is one of the fastest birds in the world, flying at speeds of up to 95 miles per hour.^[4]

The magnificent frigatebird is a large, lightly built seabird with brownish-black plumage, long narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. The male has a striking red gular sac which he inflates to attract a mate. The female is slightly larger than the male and has a white breast and belly. Frigatebirds feed on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface (often flying fish), and sometimes indulge in kleptoparasitism, harassing other birds to force them to regurgitate their food.