CreatureData

Lesser frigatebird

Fregata ariel (G. R. Gray, 1845)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel) is a species in the family Fregatidae, order Suliformes. Recorded adults weigh 754 g to 858 g and live up to 27.6 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel)
Photo: Aviceda at English Wikipedia ( Original text: Tom Tarrant ) · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the lesser frigatebird

Weight
754 g – 858 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
27.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
27.6 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
45 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
5.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
0.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the lesser frigatebird live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The lesser frigatebird is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the lesser frigatebird?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel) is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. Around 75 cm (30 in) in length, it is the smallest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well as off the Atlantic coast of Brazil.

The lesser frigatebird is a lightly built seabird with brownish-black plumage, long, narrow wings, and a deeply forked tail. The male has a striking red gular sac, which he inflates to attract a mate. The female is slightly larger than the male and has a white breast and belly. Frigatebirds feed on fish taken in flight from the ocean's surface (often flying fish), and sometimes indulge in kleptoparasitism, harassing other birds to force them to regurgitate their food.

From the Wikipedia article “Lesser frigatebird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesser_frigatebird&oldid=1368966157), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the lesser frigatebird endangered?

The lesser frigatebird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the lesser frigatebird classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderSuliformes
  5. familyFregatidae
  6. genusFregata
  7. SpeciesFregata ariel (G. R. Gray, 1845)

Synonyms Atagen ariel

Other names and names in other languages (56)
  • LEFREnglish
  • KleinfregatvoëlAfrikaans
  • فرقاط صغيرArabic
  • فرقاطة أرييلArabic
  • فرقاطة صغيرةArabic
  • fregata nanaAsturian
  • Малка фрегатаBulgarian
  • fregata petitaCatalan
  • fregatka maláCzech
  • aderyn ffrigad bachWelsh
  • Lille FregatfuglDanish
  • ArielfregattvogelGerman
  • ހޯރަDivehi
  • eta fregatoEsperanto
  • Malgranda fregatoEsperanto
  • Rabihorcado chicoSpanish
  • Fragata menorSpanish
  • väike-fregattlindEstonian
  • pikkufregattilintuFinnish
  • Frégate arielFrench
  • Frigéad beagIrish
  • פריגט קטןHebrew
  • mali brzanCroatian
  • kis fregattmadárHungarian
  • Cikalang kecilIndonesian
  • Fregata arielItalian
  • fregata minoreItalian
  • コグンカンドリJapanese
  • 군함조Korean
  • mažoji fregataLithuanian
  • mazais fregatputnsLatvian
  • BomomandryMalagasy
  • ചിന്ന കടൽക്കള്ളൻMalayalam
  • 'otahamrv
  • kleine fregatvogelDutch
  • småfregattfuglNorwegian
  • fregata małaPolish
  • fragata-pequenaPortuguese
  • rabiforcado-pequenoPortuguese
  • Tesourão-pequenoPortuguese
  • Фрегат АриельRussian
  • Фрегат-ариельRussian
  • Фрегат-ариэльRussian
  • BelamaRoviana
  • fregata bielobokáSlovak
  • Mala fregataSerbian
  • mindre fregattfågelSwedish
  • นกโจรสลัดเล็กThai
  • Küçük FregatkuşuTurkish
  • фрегат-аріельUkrainian
  • фрегат-арієльUkrainian
  • Cốc biển béVietnamese
  • 小軍艦鳥Chinese
  • 小軍艦鳥〔白斑軍艦鳥〕Chinese
  • 白斑军舰鸟Chinese
  • 白斑軍艦鳥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the lesser frigatebird

Other species in the same genus Fregata.

CompareLesser frigatebird vs Great frigatebirdLesser frigatebird vs Magnificent frigatebirdLesser frigatebird vs Christmas frigatebirdLesser frigatebird vs Ascension frigatebird

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the lesser frigatebird?

An adult lesser frigatebird weighs 754 g – 858 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the lesser frigatebird live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the lesser frigatebird for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the lesser frigatebird endangered?

The lesser frigatebird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the lesser frigatebird live?

The lesser frigatebird has a recorded lifespan of 27.6 years.

What kind of animal is the lesser frigatebird?

The lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel) belongs to the family Fregatidae in the order Suliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-frigatebird

MLA

“Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-frigatebird.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_frigatebird_2026,
  title = {Lesser frigatebird (Fregata ariel)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-frigatebird},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}