Frigate birds and Fiji...

[Michael Whitehead <>]

Hi all,

 

          I recently returned home (to an inbox of 300+ birding e-mails) from a 2 week stay on the beautiful Island of Malolo lailai, a small island in the Mamanuca island chain, western Fiji. The island itself is quite small and consequently has few bird species, I think I got to see pretty much every terrestrial species on the island.

 

        Towards the end of the trip, swimming in the sea I noticed a huge black bird soaring effortlessly up high above the island. I raced back to the beach where my binoculars were and had a good long look. The bird was either a greater or lesser frigate bird. Problem was that at the time I had no pen, paper or field guide so now I'm relying on my memory to identify it. The next problem is that distinguishing between the two species is hard for "inexperienced birdwatchers" according to what I've read. I'd appreciate some help on this one.

 

        I know the bird was female (no red throat pouch).

        White patch on breast was in the shape of Superman's little "S" on his chest. The white didn't extend onto the wings at all.

        Face and head around the bill was mostly white. White extended down to throat and neck was black.

 

        That's about all I can tell you. My "Guide to the birds of Fiji and Western Polynesia" says the lesser f'bird's size to be 70-80cm and the great's to be 86-100cm. I really don't feel confident about narrowing down size to within a 10cm error from memory when I was looking at the bird about 100 odd metres up in the air, so this is no help.

 

        Other birding highlights from the trip were:

        -Red-faced parrot finches, red adavats in the grass around the island.

        -A resident Fiji Goshawk was easy to find any day you were out and about and let me approach quite close too.

        -The aerobatic displays put on by Fiji Woodswallows at the lookout, the highest point of the island were amazing.

        -Nesting black-naped terns were an interesting thing to encounter, however the harvesting of this colony by the local villages has led to a serious decline.

       -Sitting on the balcony admiring Vanikoro broadbills and Orange-breasted honeyeaters flitting around a grand old fig.

 

       Prize for wildlife lowlights have to go to the sheer number of bloody bul buls and indian mynahs on the island, and by evening the army of cane toads that overran the resort.

 

       Special mentions go to the white-tip reef shark I encountered while snorkelling and finding Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant) on the highest point of the island.

 

        Anyway, I'd appreciate any help with the frigatebird quandry.                      

                                   Cheers,

                                          Mike.

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