. Three voyages of a naturalist, being an account of many little- known islands in three oceans visited by the "Valhalla," ; . ,as it slowly wends its way to its nest and young,if it is spied by a frigate bird. The robber at oncehurls itself on its victim, and the gannet, terrifiedat the attack of a bird so much larger than itself,drops from its mouth and throat all the fish whichit has been at such pains to catch. The frigatebird then swoops down and, catching up the fallenfish before it reaches the ground or sea, makes offand swallows the stolen food at leisure. Frigate birds, however,
. Three voyages of a naturalist, being an account of many little- known islands in three oceans visited by the "Valhalla," ; . ,as it slowly wends its way to its nest and young,if it is spied by a frigate bird. The robber at oncehurls itself on its victim, and the gannet, terrifiedat the attack of a bird so much larger than itself,drops from its mouth and throat all the fish whichit has been at such pains to catch. The frigatebird then swoops down and, catching up the fallenfish before it reaches the ground or sea, makes offand swallows the stolen food at leisure. Frigate birds, however, do not always relyon this method of getting a meal. I have frequentlyseen them catching fish for themselves, andplunging into the water somewhat after the mannerof a tern. I have also seen them feeding on theremains of a shark which had been killed andthrown overboard. The commoner of the two frigate birds on SouthTrinidad is the greater frigate,* a bird of largesize, larger than the common kite, and with a longforked tail. The adult male is a glossy greenishblack, the feathers are of a lanceolate shape, and * Fregata ?!, FRIGATE BIRDS 49 under the chin is a large red bag, to which Ialluded in a former chapter. The bill is long andsharp, and the upper mandible ends with a largecurved hook, a most formidable weapon of offenceand defence. The females and young have nobag on the throat, and have the underparts white. The other species was the lesser frigate,* whichresembles the larger except for its much smallerdimensions. We obtained one specimen, andthis was shot from the deck of the yacht byMr. Lindsay. The lesser frigate bird has onlyonce previously been obtained in the was on the occasion of the visit of the Discovery to South Trinidad, in September,1901. It is, however, a common bird in thePacific and Indian Oceans. Apparently neither of these frigate birds wasnesting on South Trinidad during our visit, but theymay breed on the neighbouring islets of
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