This is a Magnificent Frigatebird, the seabird has a mighty wingspan
of about 2.4 meters. It can stay in the air
for several days and nights and may even sleep on the wing. But what is most impressive is the fact that males
can inflate their chests and play drum solos on it. The result is a crazy,
jazzy mix of drums and clicks. Which leads us to the question: Which frequency do the
females like the most? Magnificent Frigatebirds are huge, gangly seabirds found around
the warm waters of the southern U.S. and all the way down to Brazil. They often nest in large colonies,
building nests out of sticks and shrubs. As true masters
of the coastal waters, Magnificent Frigatebirds
soar effortlessly on their 2.4 metre long wings
as they search for fish. There's just one problem: the birds can't land on sea. In fact, strangely for seabirds, they don't have
waterproof feathers. These airborne giants would actually
drown if they ever fell into the sea. They feed on fish,
without wetting their feet and therefore spend long hours aloft. They can stay in the air
for several days and nights and may even sleep on the wing. In this manner,
they traverse huge expanses of sea. Researchers found that the birds
remained in the air, day and night, with the shortest trip
lasting eight hours and the longest
almost four days. They reached altitudes
as high as 2300 meters and came close to the sea only
once every seven hours on average in search of food. They are amazingly agile fliers, but for all their elegance,
they're not above piracy, trying to steal an easy meal
from each other. Competition is tough
not only for food. Males also try to steal
the hearts of females in a curious manner. When it comes to mating the jet black males
perch in groups of up to 30 at a time, displaying side by side, each male inflates the skin
of his bright red throat pouch, which swells into
an immense elongated heart shape below his long, slender beat. Then the male rattles his bill, drumming it briskly against
the huge red balloon of his pouch. As they drum, the males
also wave their heads, quiver their wings and screech a bit, and then they really step it up
when a female glides overhead. The females survey
the males from above, picking their partners
whilst on the wing. Ecologists who studied
male birds courtship moves concluded that the sound effects
significantly predict mating success. Males that drum at lower frequencies
thanks to larger guler sacs and in quicker,
more constant cadences appealed more to females, which may perceive them
as more experienced or vigorous, the study says. In short: the larger the sac,
the more attractive a male seems to be. If the courtship was successful. Both parents will spend time
in the nest feeding their hatchling. After 10 weeks, the male departs,
leaving the female all the work. She stays and cares for her chick
for another 9 months, even after it's able to fly. It's the longest period
of parental care of all births. If the young one is ready,
it will follow their parents into the sky, already perfectly adapted
to their aerial way of life. A mere 32 kilometres from this colony, there's one island that offers
no welcome to the Frigatebirds and with good reason. The island is home to around 2000
Golden Lancehead Pit Vipers, one of the world's most venomous snakes. Check out our playlist
and take a closer look.
