These master aerialists are also pirates of the sky, stealing food from other birds in midair. A magnificent frigate bird is gliding in calm air with a ground speed of just a few knots. But the pilot, looking at the tropical forecast, predicts that later in the day he can match the frigate bird’s low … Normally, such a low ground speed would be impossible for a U-2 spy plane. Frigate bird definition is - any of a family (Fregatidae, containing a single genus Fregata) of tropical seabirds having a forked tail and large wingspans that are noted for aggressively taking food from other birds. Frigatebirds are thought to be most closely related to pelicans giving rise to another name for them, which is the frigate pelican. The frigatebird (also known as the man of war bird and the pirate bird) is a species of sea-bird found in warmer, tropical regions. Watching a Magnificent Frigatebird float in the air truly is, as the name implies, magnificent.

A large seabird with brownish-black plumage and grayish-black legs and feet, the male magnificent frigatebird is most distinguished by its bright red throat pouch (gular sac) that inflates like a balloon when he is trying to attract a mate. Frigate bird, also called man-o’-war bird, any member of five species of large seabirds constituting the family Fregatidae (order Pelecaniformes or Suliformes). Frigate birds are about the size of a chicken and have extremely long, slender wings, the span of which may reach to about 2.3 metres (nearly 8 feet), and a long, deeply forked tail. Beachgoers delight in this large, black pterodactyl-like bird that soars effortlessly on tropical breezes with hardly a flap, using its deeply forked tail to steer.