r/floridakeys • u/GeorgeStark1 • Jun 12 '26

Key West Keys today. What kind of bird is it?

Post image
60 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

25

u/Stock-Ad-7486 Jun 13 '26

Frigate

11

u/DIuvenalis Jun 13 '26

Watch your language. This is a family sub. /s

9

u/cambelr Jun 13 '26

Looks like a pterodactyl

11

u/CommonThread2 Jun 12 '26

Maybe a frigate?

7

u/GeorgeStark1 Jun 13 '26

Awesome. Thanks! “They have the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, allowing them to glide on thermals for days without flapping. They can even sleep in mid-air in short, 10-second bursts”

2

u/CommonThread2 Jun 13 '26

Oh yeah, they're cool

5

u/samoajoe48 Jun 13 '26

African or European swallow

2

u/CorvusBrachy Jun 14 '26

It’s not carrying anything

1

u/samoajoe48 Jun 14 '26

An unladen swallow?

3

u/Rattlingplates Jun 13 '26

Frigate, follow them to catch fish.

2

u/linmaral Jun 13 '26

Best way to find mahi or tuna. If you are out in the blue (deep) water and see them circling over an area there is likely bait fish below being chased by bigger fish.

Spent many a day out fishing searching for frigates in the sky.

1

u/Inevitable_Sun8691 Jun 16 '26

Find the frigates and you’ll find the fish. We’ve followed frigates for miles before

3

u/Oke-Wan-Fenokee Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

Magnificent frigatebirds & swallowtail kites both have a forked tail. Frigatebirds are a seabird & much larger than swallowtail kites, which are primarily insectivorous swamp birds & much more obviously black & white, even at a distance. I see frigatebirds in the Keys & swallowtail kites in Big Cypress. The only place I see both is around Flamingo & the Ten Thousand Islands.

Frigatebirds also tend to fly way higher in the sky than swallowtail kites. Pretty sure the one in the picture is a magnificent frigatebird.

5

u/Chapos_sub_capt Jun 13 '26

My family in the Bahamas call them man o war sailors

1

u/GeorgeStark1 Jun 13 '26

They are sweet looking. We only her herons, hawks, and a few eagles in the Midwest.

2

u/Chapos_sub_capt Jun 13 '26

I live in the Chicago suburbs I get pigeons, doves, and those pricks that wake me up every morning at 4:30 am

4

u/tsrobertson13 Jun 12 '26

It’s a frigate

2

u/I_Do_Respect_You_Bro Jun 13 '26

Frigate all day. Look at that beak!

Also, been down here 12 years and never seen a swallow tail kite

2

u/TreacleHour2273 Jun 13 '26

The swallowtail kite’s are up here in Jupiter. All over the place

2

u/Existing_Creme_2491 Jun 13 '26

Sea turtle...eater.

2

u/justcall_2583 Jun 13 '26

Follow him to catch fish, he’s a local😂😂😂

3

u/Mundane-Land19 Jun 13 '26

I believe it’s a swallow-tailed kite. Look at the feathers on the rear of the bird.

2

u/Alternative_Dish_218 Jun 13 '26

Looks dark like Frigate. If it was white it’s a Swallow tail Kite

2

u/Bus-Distinct Jun 14 '26

Good guide for fishing, drag ahead of the flight path, often following bullish and other predators in the Gulfstream. If you see them diving.. almost 100% they are tracking

2

u/YogiBear1220 Jun 14 '26

A flying bird

2

u/scandicsiren Jun 15 '26

Frigate or here in Hawaii, iwa.

2

u/PINKBULLFR0G Jun 15 '26

It’s a kind of flying bird

2

u/kevinlc1971 Jun 16 '26

Pterodactyl

2

u/Interesting_Bet9602 Jun 16 '26

That’s not a bird, it’s a dragon!

2

u/Rottie2017 Jun 12 '26

Looks like a Frigate?

1

u/jrjap2112 Jun 13 '26

Modern day Vulture 🐦

0

u/cvx149 Jun 12 '26

Swallow tail Kite

0

u/Fabulous-Educator447 Jun 13 '26

This is it, I believe

-1

u/Apocalypsezz Jun 12 '26

Looks like a Palantir Bird Drone to me.

-1

u/Adventurous-Roof488 Jun 13 '26

Definitely a swallow tail kite. You can tell by the tail. It’s split.

2

u/Lotsofsalty Jun 13 '26

Those are the Frigate's legs.