How Does The Male Frigate Bird Blow Up Its?

The Magnificent Frigatebird is a large, black pterodactyl-like bird that soars effortlessly on tropical breezes with hardly a flap, using its deeply forked tail to steer. To attract females, male Frigate birds blow up their bright red throat pouch and skwalk loudly as females pass overhead. Females then choose a suitable male and land next to him. The male responds by blowing up his red gular sac.

There is a documented case of one Great Frigatebird staying continuously airborne for two months. Males mate every breeding season, while females breed every other year. When the breeding season comes, males gather in groups to attract females, perch in low trees, and inflate their striking red gular sac. The female is slightly larger than the male and has a white breast and belly. Frigatebirds feed on fish taken in flight and regulate their body temperature by holding up their wings to sun themselves.

The adult male is glossy-black on both its upperside and underside, with a hint of purple and green on its back. During the breeding season, the adult male’s gular sac is bright red and quite large. The adult male is the only frigatebird species with white on its belly, an egg-shaped patch.

In the Galapagos, they are commonly seen after blue-footed boobies who they chase to a point of stress until they vomit or are grabbed by the tail. When a suitably impressed female lands beside a male, the two will shake their heads in rhythm, clack their bills together, and intertwine their heads. On land, males often flutter the balloonlike throat sac (or gular pouch) to cool off.

The great frigatebird is a large and lightly built seabird up to 105 cm long with predominantly black plumage. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the males blowing up their red throat pouches to attract females during courtship.