FRIGATE BIRDS 49 



Trinidad is the greater frigate,* a bird of large 

 size, larger than the common kite, and with a long 

 forked tail. The adult male is a glossy greenish 

 black, the feathers are of a lanceolate shape, and 

 under the chin is a large red bag, to which I 

 alluded in a former chapter. The bill is long and 

 sharp, and the upper mandible ends with a large 

 curved hook, a most formidable weapon of offence 

 and defence. The females and young have no 

 bag on the throat, and have the underparts white. 



The other species was the lesser frigate,! which 

 resembles the larger except for its much smaller 

 dimensions. We obtained one specimen, and 

 this was shot from the deck of the yacht by Mr. 

 Lindsay. The lesser frigate bird has only once 

 previously been obtained in the Atlantic. This 

 was on the occasion of the visit of the " Dis- 

 covery " to South Trinidad, in September, 1901. 

 It is, however, a common bird in the Pacific and 

 Indian Oceans. 



Apparently neither of these frigate birds was 

 nesting on South Trinidad during our visit, but they 

 may breed on the neighbouring islets of Martin 

 Vas, in the immediate vicinity of which we found 

 them numerous. 



My great hope was that there might be a land- 

 bird on South Trinidad, because all the other 

 South Atlantic islands, with, of course, the excep- 

 tion of Saint Paul's Rocks, on which there are no 



* Fregata aquila. f F. arid. 



