At 07:31 11/08/2005, Chris Starling wrote:
>When was the last MD Frigatebird?


Chris et al.

Don't forget that the MD/DC Records Committee on-line database is a 
resource for local birders.

To answer this question, go to the MD/DCRC web pages at this URL ...

         http://www.mdbirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html

A take the "MD Database" link in the Birds of Maryland section. This will 
load a large PDF document (don't print it!). Do a find/search for "frigate" 
and it will take you to the beginning of the listings of frigatebird 
reports and records. (There is also one record in the DC database, too). 
The definitions of the status codes can be found on the first page of the 
report, but basically, this is what they mean:

         Accepted and Not Accepted - obvious, these were reviewed by the 
committee

         Recirculate - still in the review process

         Unreviewable - a published report, but no or not enough detail was 
available to the committee to review

         Reviewable - typically, older published accounts that have not 
been resolved yet as to whether documentation exists or not

         Accepted-Group - (see below)

Caution:
In North American there are a few records each of Great Frigatebird and 
Lesser Frigatebird (one Lesser record is from Massachusetts and one 
post-hurricane bird was recently reported in Canada!). Therefore, all 
reports of frigatebirds much specifically eliminate these other rarer species.

I looked and unfortunately there is not one good web site that deals with 
separation of all three species, but look over any "seabirds of the world" 
book.

This site deals with separation of Great and Magnificent ...

         http://www.rit.edu/~rhrsbi/GalapagosPages/Frigatebirds.html

Here are some Lesser Frigatebird photos ...

         http://www.birdskorea.org/frigate2004.asp
         http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/spec/spec19-5.html

and here are some Great Frigatebird photos ...

         http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/spec/spec19-4.html
         http://www.pacificseabirdgroup.org/gallery/grfr.html

Bottom line: If you do see a frigatebird in our area, document the entire 
bird, don't just assume it is a Magnificent. Photos and video would be also 
great.

Finally, the following, from the Birds of North American Magnificent 
Frigatebird account is somewhat detailed, but treats the differences 
between the three species:

Similar species:
Difficult to distinguish from other frigatebird species in flight. Within 
the Americas and in the Hawaiian Is., slightly smaller Great Frigatebird 
species most likely to be confused with Magnificent Frigatebird. Adult male 
Magnificent distinguished from adult male Great by lack of pale alar bar on 
upper wing (present in Great), (usually) all-black axillaries (axillaries 
with pale tips in Great), and gray to black legs and feet (pink to reddish 
in Great). Adult female Magnificent distinguished from adult female Great 
by black chin and throat (chin and lower throat grayish in Great); blue 
orbital ring, which may be difficult to see (red and often noticeable in 
Great), pale blue-gray to gray bill (fleshy blue-gray to flesh-pink in 
Great except in Galápagos Is., and Baker I., Pacific Ocean, where same 
color as Magnificent); shape of black area on belly which protrudes forward 
into white breast patch (best viewed in flight from directly underneath) 
narrower and more tapered in Magnificent (broader and more rounded in 
Great); and lack of cinnamon clouding on white breast patch (often 
noticeable in Great). Juvenile Magnificent distinguished from juvenile 
Great by white head and breast (head and breast cinnamon to rusty or at 
least tinged with this color in Great), and by lower placement of black 
wedges on sides (wedges extend across lower breast in Magnificent but cross 
upper breast in Great). Latter feature creates distinct diamond-shaped 
white belly patch in juvenile Magnificent, while this patch more oval in 
juvenile Great. Subadults identified by their resemblance to Juvenal or 
adult plumages of their respective species.

Within the Americas, Magnificent could also be confused with Lesser 
Frigatebird (F. ariel) which breeds in the s. Atlantic but has occurred 
once in North America (Maine; Am. Ornithol. Union 1998). Magnificent 
distinguished from Lesser by distinctly larger size; orbital ring can be 
blue in Lesser; and lack of cinnamon color on head and breast in juvenile 
Magnificent (present in juvenile Lesser). For more detailed information on 
field identification of these species, see Harrison 1983 and Howell 1994.


Source:
Diamond, A. W., and E. A. Schreiber. 2002. Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata 
magnificens). In The Birds of North America, No. 601 (A. Poole and F. Gill, 
eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.



===================================================
Phil Davis, Secretary
MD/DC Records Committee
2549 Vale Court
Davidsonville, Maryland  21035     USA
301-261-0184
mailto:[log in to unmask]

MD/DCRC Web site:  http://www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html
===================================================