Big Breasted Birds are birds who can sleep while flying, say German scientists

For how many days can you stay without taking a sleep? Most probably, you can force yourself to remain awake for a day or two, compromising your health and looking sleepy all the time when you are awake. Well, that’s the limit of most humans, animals, mammals and birds too. But wait... because that is not the case with Frigate birds, aka Big Breasted Birds.

A study conducted by the scientists of Max Plank Institute for Ornithology has brought up this shocking revelation about Big Breasted Birds. Initially, the mystery was to reveal how these birds keep themselves awake and flying without taking a nap for about 2 long months.

On further study, it was observed that these birds are capable of taking sleep while they fly. Sounds weird, right?

Love is on the branch.

What if they collide with another bird or a building while flying? Why do not they fell down when they are asleep in mid air? It is obvious to have all these questions running in our minds while learning about FrigateBirds.


Well, that was also the case with German scientists who were involved in this study. They found that these birds have this special ability to take sleep in fragments. While flying up above in the air, they go to sleep for 10 to 12 seconds, several times and that is how they complete their sleep without sleeping for hours, days and even many months.
For sure, it is their brain which plays a vital role in their ability to sleep in parts. A part of their brain always remains conscious to help them fly when they are asleep and also to wake them up at time. During their flight, these birds are found to take 41 minutes sleep every day, which is again a shocking fact about Frigate birds.
Let's move forward to find some quick facts and pictures of the Frigate bird-

 

Good pose, buddy.

Fact #1: Frigatebirds are Carnivorous birds with fishes and crabs as their primary food.

Fact #2: They can fly with a speed up to 15 km per hour.

Fact #3: They are called as Big Breasted Birds for having an extra large red colored throat.

A Male Frigate bird flaunting its 56-inch red chest (fun)

Fact #4: They mostly live around coasts and islands, thus are called sea birds.


Fact #5: Eggs are laid by Frigate birds after a year or two which further take as long as 9 months for the offspring to take birth. As a co-incidence, human offspring also take around 9 months to born.

Fact #6: Chances are that you may spot a Frigate bird or two if you are in Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean or Pacific Ocean.

Fact #7: Sea Turtles are also in the food menu of Frigate birds.

Fact #8: By size, they are birds with long wingspan.

Fact #9: The Male and Female Frigate birds can be differentiated easily as the Male birds have red coloured throats.

Face #10: As many other bird types, they too prefer to live in colonies.

Face #11: Unlike other birds that can fly, Frigate birds spend most of their lifespan flying in the air.

Fact #12: Male Frigate birds don’t stay to protect or rear the eggs till the offspring to come out. Mostly, they will stay for a month or two with the Female Frigate Bird and leave, after which the Female bird is on her own with the eggs. Kind of Betraying? Well, maybe.

The big fat frigate bird.

That's a pretty huge throat. How loud do you chirp with that buddy?

#Bonus Fact: Charles Darwin has named these birds as “the condor of the ocean”.