birding-aus
At 21:27 14/02/99 +1100, Mike Hines wrote:
> February 8,... some fifty Figate Birds over Point Lookout, the greatest
>number he had ever seen....
>It is understood that our common Frigate Bird is the Lesser (Frigata
>ariel).
In Queensland both Lesser & Great Frigatebirds occur along the coast and
through the GBR (Great Barrier Reef). It is often assumed that Lesser is
much more common than Great, but a lot of this is based on the circular
argument that Lesser is more common, therefore all sightings are of
Lessers, therefore Lessers are more common.... I know 3 books that contain
photos of Greats from Lady Eliott Island that have mis-labelled them
"Lesser". HANZAB lists about 7,000 pairs of Lessers breeding in the GBR
and Coral Sea and about 1,200 Greats in the Coral Sea. The figures for
Great appear to be significant underestimates. I guess the ratio of
Lesser:Great would be between 7:1 and 3:1. It's a pity that the field
guides aren't very good for this group. They're not nearly as hard to
identify as rumour would have it. Adults of both sexes can always be
identified by the presence (Lesser) or absence (Great) of white 'spurs' in
the armpits.
David James
PO BOX 5225
Townsville Mail Centre 4810
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