page_title: Magnificent frigatebird
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Magnificent frigatebird / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Female Magnificent frigatebird fishing off Copacabana beach, Brazil
context_page_description: The magnificent frigatebird is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. With a length of 89–114 centimetres and wingspan of 2.17–2.44 m 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. There are also populations on the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific and the Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic.
  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 it 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, and sometimes indulge in kleptoparasitism, harassing other birds to force them to regurgitate their food.
context_section_description: The magnificent frigatebird is the largest species of frigatebird. It measures 89–114 cm (35–45 in) in length, has a wingspan of 2.17–2.44 m (7.1–8.0 ft) and weighs 1.1–1.59 kilograms (2.4–3.5 lb).  Males are all-black with a scarlet throat pouch that is inflated like a balloon in the breeding season. Although the feathers are black, the scapular feathers produce a purple iridescence when they reflect sunlight, in contrast to the male great frigatebird's green sheen. Females are black but have a white breast and lower neck sides, a brown band on the wings, and a blue eye-ring that is diagnostic of the female of the species. Immature birds have a white head and underparts.
  This species is very similar to the other frigatebirds and is similarly sized to all but the lesser frigatebird. However, it lacks a white axillary spur, and juveniles show a distinctive diamond-shaped belly patch. The magnificent frigatebird is silent in flight, but makes various rattling sounds at its nest.
  It spends days and nights on the wing, with an average ground speed of 10 km/h (6.2 mph), covering up to 223 km (139 mi) before landing. They alternately climb in thermals, to altitudes occasionally as high as 2,500 m (8,200 ft), and descend to near the sea surface. The only other bird known to spend days and nights on the wing is the common swift.
caption: Female fishing off Copacabana beach, Brazil
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