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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing frigatebirds. Imagine a chicken. Now give that chicken eight foot wings. Congratulations you have a frigatebird! All jokes aside, frigatebirds have the longest wings to body weight ratio of all living birds. They're built for soaring. In fact, their legs are puny, and frigatebirds can only manage a stumbling walk while on the ground. They're not made for water either. Though they spend most of their time at sea, they never knowingly choose to enter it. Frigatebirds don't have the excess of oils their relatives, such as cormorants and boobies, possess to keep their feathers free of water, so it weighs them down if they get wet.

Frigatebirds live around the world in tropical and subtropical locations. There are currently five classified species and some exist only in small locales. For example, the Christmas frigatebird is endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian ocean. Frigatebirds use isolated oceanic islands as well as densely vegetated coastal mangroves as sites for their breeding colonies. Breeding colonies consist of hundreds to thousands of birds and can include other species like the aforementioned boobies.

Generally speaking, frigatebirds remain within 100 miles (161km) of their breeding colony year round, but some, especially youngsters, can travel hundreds of miles from home. Frigatebirds are strong fliers and can remain airborne without touching land for over a month! While in the skies, they're on the lookout for meals which can include jellyfish and crustaceans they expertly nab from the water without making any sort of dive. Their favorite food, however, is flying fish. As we discussed in our flying fish episode, these fish soar above the water, making them an easy target for a frigatebird.

Frigatebirds have another common name for their feeding strategies, as well. They're also known as man of war birds. They're named so because they'll relentlessly attack other seafaring birds until the poor birds regurgitate their meals. As the throw up flies through the air, the man of war bird swoops in and steals the spoils. Some frigatebirds travel in small parties of a handful of members and tag team to make this endeavor even more successful. Essentially, these birds are sky pirates!

When they aren't flying around annoying their neighbors, they're back at home eating their children. Frigatebirds have been observed dining on the eggs and chicks of their breeding colony companions and have even been known to take young of their own species! Other predators to frigatebirds include introduced invasive species like rats and domestic cats as well as humans who disturb their nesting colonies and destroy their habitat.

Frigatebirds are well known for the iconic red sac seen in displaying males. They'll inflate this pouch and drum their bill against it to make a deep sound. Here's what they sound like: (audio). The females fly above the displaying males and eventually land when they've picked their favorite. Frigatebirds mate for a single season and choose a new partner the subsequent season. Frigatebirds are the most prolific when there is the most food to go around; they don’t have a clearly defined breeding season. Nests are constructed out of seaweed, grass, leaves, and feathers, and a single white egg is laid. Both parents incubate the egg for about 50 days. After hatching, the chick is tended to by both parents until it starts to fly 150 to 200 days later. At this point, the male may leave, perhaps to mate again, while the female continues to feed the baby for a few more months. It takes five years to over a decade for a frigatebird to reach reproductive maturity depending on the species, and they can live to be twenty or older.

As previously mentioned, frigatebirds are approximately chicken-sized in the body, but they have some impressive wings. Their wings can reach eight feet (2.4m) in length and come to a sharp point. Frigatebirds also have a highly forked tail which acts as a rudder while they fly. Males have the red pouch that deflates when not in use, and females have white feathers along their breasts. The ladies are larger than the lads. Frigatebirds also have a long beak with a sharp hook at the end and no usable nostrils!

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