How High Can A Frigate Bird Fly?

Great Frigatebirds, seagoing fliers with a 6-foot wingspan, can fly higher than 4,000 meters in freezing conditions and can stay on the wing for up to 12 days. They can also climb to very high altitudes (3,000 to 4,000 meters) by flying inside cumulus clouds. To glide over longer distances in less cloudy areas, they regularly climb to very high altitudes by flying inside cumulus clouds.

Frigate birds can stay aloft for weeks at a time, using large-scale movements in the air to save energy on their journey. They can fly higher than 4,000 meters in freezing conditions and track atmospheric conditions over months-long transoceanic flights. Once they reach their preferred cruising altitude between 100 and 6,500 feet, they can glide for almost 40 miles until they need another lift. Researchers have discovered that great frigatebirds can collect helpful climate data as they traverse the high skies.

The frigate bird can fly continuously for 185 days, going more than 35,000 miles (56,327 km). From this high point, frigatebirds can glide more than 35 miles without flapping their wings. After hitching a ride on the drafts, the frigates can ascend up to 1,600 meters, or 5,249 feet without flapping their wings, sometimes. 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.