[4] The magnificent frigatebird is a large, lightly built seabird with brownish-black plumage, long narrow wings and a deeply forked tail.

However, they were split by the International Ornithological Congress in 2022 based on a 2011 study which examined genetic and morphological variation in magnificent frigatebirds, finding both expected and also highly unexpected results.

As predicted by the flight capacity of the species, the authors found signatures of high gene flow across most of the distribution range.

[7] Christopher Columbus encountered magnificent frigatebirds when passing the Cape Verde Islands on his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492.

[10] The word frigatebird derives from the French mariners' name for the bird La Frégate - a frigate or fast warship.

[11] The magnificent frigatebird is widespread in the tropical Atlantic, breeding colonially in trees in Florida, the Caribbean and also along the Pacific coast of the Americas from Mexico to Ecuador, including the Galápagos Islands.

It has occurred as a vagrant as far from its normal range as the Isle of Man, Denmark, Spain, England, Nova Scotia, the Magdalen Islands, and British Columbia.

It spends days and nights on the wing, with an average flapping rate of 2.84 beat per second,[17] ground speed of 10 km/h (6.2 mph), covering up to 223 km (139 mi) before landing.

[18] This bird makes a shallow platform nest on top of both trees and bushes on islands and cays with mangroves.

Individual bird diets vary depending on food availability, preferred hunting technique,[20] sex, and age.

After forcing the other seabird to regurgitate its meal, the magnificent frigatebird will dive and catch the prey before it hits the surface of the water.

Any catastrophic event or threats by humans could wipe out the population of approximate two-thousand magnificent frigatebirds that nest on the Galápagos Islands.

Magnificent frigatebirds are currently classified as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but because of the genetic uniqueness of those on the Galápagos Islands this may need to be revisited.