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Great Frigatebird

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Great Frigatebird

A pirate of the skies with the largest wingspan-to-weight ratio of any bird/Small Animals

The great frigatebird (Fregata minor) has the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, with a 2.3 meter wingspan but a body mass of only about 1.5 kg. This allows it to soar for weeks without landing, sleeping on the wing in 10-second bursts. Males inflate a bright red throat pouch to the size of a basketball during courtship. Frigatebirds are kleptoparasites, harassing other seabirds in flight until they regurgitate their catch. They cannot swim or walk well, making them almost entirely aerial.

Measurements

Wingspan2.3 m
500 trillionIron nuclei
9.2Candle heights
Body mass1.5 kg
1.8 hundredthsNicolas Cages
2.1 hundredthsAverage adults
1.1 thousandthsHonda Civics
Body length1.05 m
2.95Violins
1.9 thousandthsOne World Trade Centers
Flight speed11 m/s
11Shopping cart rolls
393Ketchup leaving the bottle
Inflated throat pouch diameter2.5 tenths m
2.94Shuttlecock lengths
7.6 hundredthsHammock lengths
2.7 thousandthsAmerican football fields
Time aloft without landing1.7 million s
19,222Red lights
4.7 millionthsHolocene eras
14,417Hot Pocket cool-down periods

Up to 20 days

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