Great frigatebirds are one of the most common seabirds in the Marshall Islands. They have wingspans of up to two metres but weigh less than two kilograms – their bones are almost hollow to keep them light. This makes them incredibly fast and agile in the air, able to dive and twist at high speed.
Frigatebirds are famous for a trick called kleptoparasitism – a big word that means stealing food from other birds. A frigatebird will chase a booby or tern that has caught a fish, harassing it in the air until the other bird drops its meal. Then the frigatebird swoops and catches the food before it hits the water.
Male frigatebirds gather in trees at nesting time and inflate their bright red throat pouches for hours, calling out to attract females flying overhead. When a female chooses a mate, they build a nest together from sticks and raise one chick at a time. The chick is white and fluffy and completely different from its sleek black parents.
Despite being a seabird, frigatebirds cannot land on water – their feathers are not waterproof. They must catch everything in the air or from the surface without getting wet. This is one reason they are so skilled at stealing from other birds rather than doing all the fishing themselves.