Galapagos - frigate birds

With long wings and forked tails, frigate birds maintain a position in the sky from which they chase and harass terns and gulls, hoping they will drop their food. Huge birds, they have a wingspan of almost 8 feet. Two species, the magnificent frigatebird and the great frigatebird, inhabit the Galapagos. The magnificent frigatebird, which measures around three and a half feet long, is a couple of inches longer than the great frigatebird i.e. virtually indistinguishable from a distance. The male magnificent’s black plumage has a purple-ish sheen, while the great frigate’s is more green-ish. It is easier to differentiate between females. Magnificent females have a blue eye-ring and white underparts adorned with a black throat while great females have a reddish eye-ring and entirely white underparts, including the throat. Both juveniles have white underparts and white heads.