Magnificent Frigatebird - Andrew Guthrie
Report

Contributor

Date

Location

Hamlin Beach SP--Parking Lot No. 4 (Primary Lakewatch site)
Monroe, New York, United States
Media from this location Illustrated Checklist
Map
Map Coordinates: 43.3670756, -77.9631686
Age
Not specified
Sex
Not specified

Observation details

🔴 ***Mega; apparently first Monroe County record. Immature spotted by AG flying slowly west at 8 am. Large black bird with comically long, angular wings; long gray bill; long tail, displaying deep fork when spread. Whitish head, chest and belly mottled with dark feathers. Limited pale mottling in axillaries. Identification of subadult frigatebirds is difficult. From reviewing references (Howell, 1994; Howell, Russell, and Lewington, 2014) it appears this is a third-cycle type male Magnificent (referencing Figure 1 in Howell, 1994, Basic II male plumage somewhere between illustrations H & K). Features pointing to this identification include a tapered rather than rounded white belly, and mottling on face and head before the belly is mostly black (as in Great). Comments welcome.

Technical information

Model
Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Lens
TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011
ISO
1600
Focal length
600 mm
Flash
Flash did not fire, auto
f-stop
f/7.1
Shutter speed
1/2500 sec
Dimensions
1064 pixels x 885 pixels
Original file size
472.05 KB