Great Frigatefatr«C {Frega-ta minor ) * 
Current status: Abundant resident and third most abundant br eding species 
Bcaa*aJihB aM gt 
fv h/ 
ijin'’!' peark. Maximum POBSP jr v y 
IK t\ A M 
estimates 6,000 in February 1965. Minimum POBSP A estimate 5 1,000 in Novembe 
"K> 
1963. 
rlor Rpcords: The U.S. Ftcploring Expedition (Cassin, 1858) found Great 
Frigatebirds incubating fresh eggs in January 1841.and netec that the nests 
were built on the- ground because of tae absence of treesr Donaghho ( 1952 ) 
stated that Frigatebirds were common in July 1938 but he undoubtably included 
both species of frigatebirds in this statement. In the spring of 1939 J.E. 
A. Kinney banded 200 adult frigatebirds, some of -which may have been Lesser 
Frigatebirds. One of these was 1.tor recaptured on Tongareva (Kunro, 1944). 
Population! The population estimates aie relatively inaccurate ana at this 
time re 
—.1M»ip»i|i 
can onl 
yr 
conclude that there is considerable periodic variation in the population 
with peak numbers being present in the summer(see table 
.) 
Table 
Great Frigatebird populations on Ende a burp Island 
F e brm r y 
July 
November 
2.000 (15s) 
5,000 (4710) 1,000 ( 866 ) 
5,000 (4304) 3,000 ( 2278 ) 
6,000 {26.62) 4,000 (2554) 
The first figure given is the population estimate, the second tae 
breeding population which is based on relatively exact nest counts | 
and which may be a better indication of population size than the population 
estimates. 
Annual Cycle : There is a definite annual cycle in this species although 
it nay -vary slightly from year to year. In 19 o4 the cycle apparently began la 
than in 19b5 as a. pears to be true for a number of other species 
