Among the things I enjoy about being at sea in the southern hemisphere are whale-watching and bird-watching, although I’m far from an expert at either.
There’s a lot of fascinating birds to see at sea, but the two species that most caught my attention were the albatrosses (found in more southern regions) and frigate birds (found in warmer countries close to the equator).
Frigate birds are great at catching the breezes and deftly maneuvering with their forked tails, not flapping their wings very often. They are fairly large birds, with wings that can span more than 2 meters (about 7 feet), but are agile in the air. We saw several flying fish being pulled from the air by frigate birds.
These birds shown above are females. Males birds have a bright red inflatable throat pouch (gular sac) which is used in mating displays. Unfortunately I never had a chance to photograph a male frigate bird in flight.
