They are known to stay in the air for up to two months without landing because their wings aren't waterproof so they are unable to land on water
According to the Hawaii Birding Trails website, the great frigate bird is a large seabird with a hooked beak, a forked tail and a wingspan that can reach 7 and 1/2 feet.
The website says the bird is known as “iwa” in Hawaiian, which means “thief," referring to how, instead of fishing for their own food, they attack other seabirds in order to make them drop their catches so they can eat them. This is known as kleptoparasitism.
Breeding
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service website says frigate birds have a very large range in which they live and are found throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They breed after age 9 and once they begin breeding, raising a single chick takes a year and a half.
Because of the time it takes to raise a chick, females can only breed every other year, explains FWS. Males breed every year with a different female each time. Frigate birds also don’t tend to reuse nesting sites.
The All About Birds website says male frigate birds have bright red gular sacs that they inflate like a balloon to attract females. These sacks are not visible outside of the mating season when males have no reason to inflate them.
Traveling
The Kilauea Point wildlife blog states frigate birds are known to stay in the air for two months without landing and are able to fly as high as 2.5 miles above sea level. This is necessary, the blog says, because frigate birds are not actually able to land on the water.
Frigate birds lack the oil glands most seabirds use to waterproof their feathers, the blog continues. If a frigate bird were to land on the water, their feathers would become waterlogged and the bird would sink and drown.
Significance to Hawaiians
The book “Olelo Noeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings” by Mary Kawena Pukui has several examples of Hawaiian sayings about frigate birds. One such saying is “Kikaha ka iwa he la makani,” or, “When the frigate bird flies high, it’s going to be windy.”
Another saying recorded on Hana Hou! magazine’s website is “Lele ka iwa, maile kai koo,” or, “When the frigate bird flies out towards the sea, the sea will be calm.” Ancient Hawaiians used the frigate bird’s flight patterns as a way to predict the weather, the website explains.
Hawaiians were not the only ones observing the frigate bird. According to the Hokulea Archive, in Tahiti, the frigate bird is an embodiment of Oro, the war god. Western sailors, meanwhile, saw it as a bad omen.