frigate bird

Frigate Bird, originally uploaded by jamesburden.

I’m in the mood for the marvels of the natural world at the moment.

This is a Frigate bird. I saw this one when I was in Florida last year. Frigate birds can hardly walk and can’t take off from a flat surface. They have the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird. They are almost constantly in the air.

They can’t swim either – hence the age-old affinity with sailors who knew that when they saw that distinctive silhouette of the frigate bird that land could not be too far away.