‘Iwa
Bird is also known as the great frigate bird and its scientific
name is Frigata Minor. The Hawaiian meaning of ‘Iwa
is thief. The ‘Iwa bird may be 43 inches long.
This bird soars and glides gracefully and has a wingspan of
seven feet. ‘Iwa birds fly offshore even though
their feathers are not waterproof. The feet of this bird aren’t
webbed like ducks. ‘Iwa Birds may sometimes
travel great distances although these birds are usually non-migratory
and stay within a boundary of 50 miles from their home. The
type of food that these birds eat consists of fish to squid.
They swoop down to the ocean surface and snatch prey using
their hooked beaks. ‘Iwa birds are able to
fly for hours or even days while in search of food without
resting on land. Another way adults and juvinials get food
is by stealing fish from other birds while in flight although;
most of their food is caught on their own. They also may enjoy
eating sooty tern chicks and green sea turtle hatchlings.
Adult
birds have mostly black plumage. ‘Iwa Birds
have blue/gray to black beaks that are long and hooks at the
end. The male and female ‘Iwa Birds have a
lot of different characteristics and are easy to classify
from each other. They male ‘Iwa Birds has a
red pouch under its beak and this pouch fills with air when
he is looking for a mate. The red ring around of her eye and
the white feathers on her throat and breast may classify the
female. The females (3.2 pounds) are larger that the males
(2.6 pounds). Immature birds have white heads, throats, and
breasts. They are also heavily marked with a rusty looking
color. The females lay one egg and that egg takes about 55
days to hatch.
The ‘Iwa
Bird sets its nest in remote areas or islands that are plentyful
with bushes or vegetation. Their nests are poorly made which,
is why many of the eggs do not hatch. These birds are very
large although, the bird only weighs about three pounds. Its
body consists of a low body weight, and put together with
two combined huge wings and a forked tail. This unique body
structure allows the ‘Iwa Bird to soar all
day on thermal drafts. They perform acrobatics like twist
and loops while they are in the air. The color of this bird
is black with a white chest. The ‘Iwa Birds
doesn’t have much natural predators although; young
sea birds are prey to mongoose, cats, and rats. ‘Iwa
Birds like to take advantage of thermal or circulating, rising
hot air that allow them to rise thousands of feet into the
air. |
