Great Frigatebird Courtship – Donna O’Daniel
Gerald McCormack, CINHT
Frigatebirds are the largest seabirds residing in the Cook Islands, with wingspans of 180-220cm. They are uniformly black above, and black or black with a white breast below; their wings are long, angled, and sharp tipped; their tails are long, and deeply split into two sections. They do not nest on Rarotonga, or on any inhabited Southern Group island, although they often soar over the coast of inhabited islands when there is a storm at sea. As a result they are sometimes called Storm Birds or Hurricane Birds. It is not clear why frigatebirds congregate at islands during storms, but it is probably because they find flying at sea more difficult and if they land on the water they usually die.
