Category: Birds
The Magnificent Frigatebird is the largest species of frigatebird and is common in the tropical and sub-tropical waters off America on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. They have brownish-black plumage, a deeply forked tail, and long, narrow wings. The males are recognized by their large, bright red neck (gular) sacs that they can inflate to attract a mate. In addition to eating fish plucked from the ocean’s surface while in flight, they are also known to engage in “kleptoparasitism,” a curious adaptation wherein they harass another bird until it regurgitates its catch.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Magnificent_Frigatebird/id
Asleep at the wheel?
Can you imagine spending nearly all of your life in the air? The common swift doesn’t have to - it just does! From the day this bird learns to fly, it almost never touches the ground voluntarily - it eats, drinks, mates, and may even sleep while flying. While sleep walking can be problematic in humans, many birds have the ability to enter a state called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, where one half of the brain sleeps as the other remains alert. This method of “sleeping with one eye open,” is a great way to avoid becoming another animal’s meal, and has led to the suspicion that these birds, who almost never willingly land, also sleep while in flight!
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