Lesser frigatebird

How it lives

Lesser frigatebirds nest in colonies on isolated islands and atolls, laying one egg on a platform of twigs. It hatches after about 6 to 7 weeks. The chick stays in the nest for about 6 months and is fed for longer after that. Adults breed every other year at best, and only 10 to 15% of eggs produce a fledged chick. In Australia the season runs from May to December. Frigatebirds do not land on the sea. Their feathers have little oil, and they cannot take off from water. Lifespan was not given in the sources I opened.

Where it goes

Young birds disperse hundreds or thousands of kilometres from where they hatched. One lesser frigatebird tracked after breeding on Europa Island flew across the tropical Indian Ocean to Indonesia and on towards the Solomon Islands.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

It breeds on islands in the Indian and southern Pacific oceans. Wikipedia gives several hundred thousand birds. Birds of the World gives 100,000 to 499,999 and calls the population stable. Key colonies include Aldabra (more than 6,000 pairs), northern Australia (about 15,000 pairs), and the Phoenix and Line Islands. The Atlantic subspecies, F. a. trinitatis on Trindade Island, is Critically Endangered, with fewer than 40 breeding pairs according to Wikipedia. Birds of the World says it may be extinct, with breeding last documented in 1975 to 1976. There are three subspecies. IUCN assessed the species as Least Concern in 2018.