Vertebrate Zoology

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English Further reading

man-o'-war bird

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

man-o'-war bird or frigate-bird, most aerial of the water birds, found in the tropic seas. The man-o'-war bird's wingspread (7 1/2 ft/228.5 cm) is the largest in proportion to its body (3-4 lb/1.4-1.8 kg) of any bird. It can soar motionless by the hour and has been recorded in flights lasting nearly four days, spending most of that time several hundred feet or more in the air. It is awkward on land and in the sea, where the feathers quickly become water-logged.

The name derives from its grace and swiftness in the air and from its piratical tendencies; it harasses boobies, pelicans, cormorants, and gulls until they drop their catch. Man-o'-war birds feed chiefly on fish but also prey on the young of sea birds and on jellyfish, squid, and young turtles. They have long hooked beaks and forked tails; the male has an inflatable orange throat pouch that becomes red at courtship time.

The purplish black magnificent frigate-bird, Fregata magnificens, 40 in. (100 cm) long, is found from the Bahamas and Baja California S to Brazil and Ecuador; the great frigate-bird, F. minor, is found in the Indian Ocean. Other species, e.g., the Ascension and Christmas Island frigate-birds, are named for their habitats. The lesser frigate-bird, the smallest (32 in./80 cm) of the family, is found in the South Pacific and on the islands off Brazil and Madagascar.

Frigate-birds are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Pelecaniformes, family Fregatidae.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"man-o'-war bird." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"man-o'-war bird." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-manowarb.html

"man-o'-war bird." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-manowarb.html

Learn more about citation styles

frigate bird

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

frig·ate bird • n. a predatory tropical seabird (genus Fregata, family Fregatidae) with dark plumage, long narrow wings, a deeply forked tail, and a long hooked bill.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"frigate bird." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"frigate bird." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-frigatebird.html

"frigate bird." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-frigatebird.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	God's own island: Man-O-War Cay, Bahamas. Magazine article from: The Loyalist Gazette; 9/22/1996
	Proms 'Man 'o' War' has Ulster sting in tail.(News) Newspaper article from: The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland); 8/4/2001
	The Tories' salty man o' war was a magnificent sight . . . Yesterday in... Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 12/1/2006