Barbuda - Fascinating frigate birds
Nimue
Tue 22 Mar 2011 02:31
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There are up to
5000 frigate birds in the lagoon’s mangroves, with as many as a dozen birds
roosting on a single bush. The sight of the males inflating their blood
red pouches to attract females was rather spectacular, as were the chicks, which
hatch after 7 weeks, but take nearly 6 months to learn to fly. Frigate
birds have a distinctive forked tail and a 6ft wingspan and has the lightest
weight to wing-span ratio of any bird and they are able to soar at great heights
for hours on end. Although they are not able to dive into water,
they are known as aerial pirates as they harass other seabirds until they
release their catch. These are quite remarkable birds.
The following 10 photos are
taken at the frigate bird colony
          AMAZING BIRDS!
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