Skip to content 
For female frigatebirds, a single color shade can convey a thousand words, much as a photograph can convey a thousand words about humans in Galapagos Frigatebirds courtship. The male Galapagos frigatebirds often inflate their bright-red pouches toward the sky in June, May, and November to attract the attention of the females circling overhead. This Galapagos Frigatebirds courtship behavior is both captivating and essential for mating. Their beautiful red pouches act as breeding flags, alerting the females above that they are available for purchase.
The Pouch Performance: A Galapagos Frigatebirds Courtship Display
Because food supplies are at their optimum at this time of year, usually just before they drop off during the upcoming dry season, it is not unusual to witness frigatebirds expanding their pouches. These cunning breeders know to mate when the going gets good and the environment is perfect, much like a utopian society. On the Western and Northern Galapagos itineraries of the Santa Cruz II Galapagos tour, you will have the opportunity to witness the spectacular and great frigatebird.
When visiting the breeding colonies, one of the most striking characteristics of Galapagos birds is the spectacular gular sacks worn by the males, which resemble leathery balloons. Females are busy inspecting the males as they fly overhead, and their leathery, crimson pouches play a critical role in their selection process. Males on the ground need an average of thirty minutes to progressively inflate their bags, which will eventually cause them to act as fertility beacons, attracting females. The males also display exaggerated wooing, shaking their wings furiously and swaying their heads back and forth.
Galapagos Frigatebird Nesting Patterns: Post-Fire Life
The female builds a nest using guano as a kind of glue to hold the sticks together, and after copulation, the male usually gathers up sticks and brings them back to her. When these aren’t available, the nest will typically end up on the ground. Usually, these nests are located high in trees or bushes.
Each bird lays just one egg, which the other birds nurture for about two to three months. Throughout the first month of their lives, chicks are continuously watched over by their parents and have soft, white down upon birth. The juvenile frigatebird is then fed by its parents for the next five to six months; at this point, the father gives up, and the mother takes over as the primary caregiver for the next six to nine months.
Because raising the newborn chick is highly involved and time-consuming, frigatebirds typically only reproduce every two years.
