Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), male displaying his gular pouch to impress females, family Fregatidae, order Suliformes, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

photograph by ojitos.2601

[2410/11080] Christmas frigatebird - Fregata andrewsi

Order: Suliformes Family: Fregatidae (frigatebirds)

Photo credit: Forest Botial-Jarvis via Macaulay Library

A male magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) shows off its gular sac midflight in St Petersberg, Florida, USA

by Dennis Adair

It's Red Nose Day, here's a Magnificent Frigatebird since it looks like one

Reference photo by Andrew Turner

Donate to Comic Relief (if you can)

Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor)

© Christopher Moser-Purdy

Birdwomen Family: Harpyidae

Birdwomen are the most common of magical creatures, appearing on every continent except for Antarctica*. Opportunistic omnivores, birdwomen take the form of massive carrion birds, typically corvids, vultures, condors and eagles, with the heads of women. They appear to be exclusively female; however, some species such as the Mediterranean harpy (Harpia strophades) do pair up during the mating season, with members impressing prospective partners by inflating a pair of gular sacks at the base of the throat similar to the behaviour of frigatebirds (family Fregatidae) and the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus).

The magic of most species of birdwomen are affiliated with storms and disease. The alkonost (Harpia bilibinae) lays its eggs in the sea, and their hatching causes thunderstorms to form, while the droppings of the Mediterranean harpy immediately befoul food.

While most species are reluctant to directly attack humans, birdwomen have no qualms in consuming carrion. Multiple cultures report birdwomen as constant companions to sites of battle and bloodshed. Nordic myths of Valkyries spiriting away the dead are almost certainly inspired by the sight of Scandinavian species of birdwomen feasting on the bodies of the slain after battle, possibly the crested harpy (Valkyria cristatus), nicknamed by professional harpiers as the "Thor's falcon."

The North American birdwoman (Harpia canadensis) is the largest known species of birdwoman, with species standing between five and six feet tall, with respective wingspans of 12 to 15 feet wide. Easily identified by their black, iridescent plumage, North American birdwomen exhibit an intelligent, often playful and curious personality. While native to western and central Canada and the northwestern United States, one birdwoman was sighted in Point Pleasant, West Virginia through the late 1960s; following the 1967 Silver Bridge collapse, one harpier reported seeing this same birdwoman consuming the bodies of two disappeared travellers who had washed up downriver.

*Sightings of the "penguinwomen" of Antarctica are unsubstantiated and should not be counted as fact.

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)

© Curtis McCamy

Magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)

Photo by Murray Foubister

Frigate bird

Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi

Magnificent Frigatebird Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai

[344/10,977] Ascension Frigatebird - Fregata aquila

Order: Suliformes Family: Fregatidae (frigatebirds)

Photo credit: Sam Weber

Fregata magnificens by Go Zilla

Juvenil de Fragata Tijereta. Fregata magnificens. Juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird. 

Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens

St. George's, Grenada, 2014

Mercury emissions in Southeast Asian waters threaten Australian birds

Australian bred Frigatebirds that migrate to Southeast Asian waters risk unacceptable levels of mercury contamination, according to a study led by a Monash University biologist. The research, published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin, focused on two species of seabird that bred in Australian waters but migrated to Southeast Asia in the non-breeding period. The findings have serious implications for other species – including humans – using marine resources in Southeast Asia. The researchers found that some of the sampled birds had feather mercury concentrations far exceeding those known to be harmful in other birds.

"Our findings highlight the need for tighter mercury emission regulations in southeast Asia," said lead study author, Dr Rowan Mott, a researcher in the Monash School of Biological Sciences. "Tighter regulations would minimise the potential threat to frigatebirds and other species dependent on marine resources including humans," he said.

The research team used seabirds as 'bio-monitors', and assessed environmental trace metal concentrations in the eastern Indian Ocean, between North Western Australia and Indonesia.

"We've been able to show that heavy metal burdens – namely mercury – in these birds almost certainly arises from Southeast Asia," said Dr Rohan Clarke, a study co-author also from the Monash School of Biological Sciences. "Mercury emission policy and enforcement must improve in southeast Asia," he said.

Two breeding colonies in the eastern Indian Ocean were sampled: Ashmore Reef and Adele Island. Both locations support large breeding colonies of Lesser Frigatebirds, small numbers of breeding Great Frigatebirds, and are recognised by Bird Life International as Important Bird Areas. The researchers looked for mercury contamination in the feather samples of 74 birds.

"The results implicate mercury contamination in the marine areas of southeast Asia, and the South China Sea in particular, as a potential threat to seabirds," Dr Mott said. "The findings highlight the difficulty conserving species that range widely and cross international borders," he said.