Birds of Christmas Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Birds of Christmas Island form a heterogeneous group of over 100 species. There is a core group of ten endemics that have evolved on the remote island in the eastern Indian Ocean for thousands of years, attended by a suite of regular migrants, opportunists and occasional visitors. Some 200 km from the nearest land, Java, Christmas Island was not occupied by humans until the late 19th Century. It is now an Australian territory. The natural vegetation of most of the 140 km² island is rainforest, to which the endemic landbirds are adapted, while the seabirds have taken advantage of a breeding location which had no major natural predators.

After over a century of human exploitation of the phosphate deposits covering much of the island, two thirds of the rainforest cover remains and is now protected as a national park. However, gaps where the forest has been cleared, and the introduction of exotic fauna, continue to destabilise the island’s biological diversity. The endemic Abbott's Booby is threatened when nesting by wind turbulence caused by past forest clearance. However, the biggest immediate threat is the introduction and spread of Yellow Crazy Ants, through both direct predation and ecosystem collapse. This has led to all the island’s endemic bird species and subspecies being classified as Critically Endangered.

Meanwhile the number of species recorded from Christmas Island continues to increase as birders, especially from Australia, attracted by the island’s endemics, record a variety of vagrants hitherto unnoticed. Some of these may in time, as with the White-breasted Waterhen, establish breeding populations. Christmas Island is now seen as a birding ‘hot spot’, not only for its endemics but also for the chance of recording new species for the Australian bird list, something reflected in the frequency of submissions of sightings to the Birds Australia Rarities Committee.

[edit] List of birds

Phasianidae
- Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus - introduced, hybridising with feral domestic fowl
Anatidae
- Garganey, Anas querquedula - vagrant
Procellariidae
- Bulwer's Petrel, Bulweria bulwerii - vagrant
- Barau's Petrel, Pterodroma baraui - vagrant
- Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus - vagrant
Hydrobatidae
- Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel, Oceanodroma matsudairae - vagrant
Phaethontidae
- White-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon lepturus fulvus - endemic subspecies
- Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda - breeding
Sulidae
- Abbott's Booby, Papasula abbotti - endemic species
- Brown Booby, Sula leucogaster - breeding
- Red-footed Booby, Sula sula - breeding
Phalacrocoracidae
- Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo - vagrant
- Little Black Cormorant, Phalacrocorax sulcirostris - vagrant
Pelecanidae
- Australian Pelican, Pelecanus conspicillatus - vagrant
Fregatidae
- Christmas Frigatebird, Fregata andrewsi - endemic species
- Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel - regular visitor
- Great Frigatebird, Fregata minor - breeding
Ardeidae
- Great Egret, Ardea alba - vagrant
- Cattle Egret, Ardea ibis - vagrant
- Intermediate Egret, Ardea intermedia - vagrant
- White-faced Heron, Ardea novaehollandiae - breeding
- Striated Heron, Butorides striatus - vagrant
- Little Egret, Egretta garzetta - vagrant
- Eastern Reef Egret, Egretta sacra - breeding
- Malayan Night Heron, Gorsachius melanolophus - vagrant
- Cinnamon Bittern, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus - vagrant
- Schrenck's Bittern, Ixobrychus eurhythmus - vagrant
- Black Bittern, Ixobrychus flavicollis - vagrant
- Yellow Bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis - vagrant
- Nankeen Night-Heron, Nycticorax caledonicus - vagrant
Threskiornithidae
- Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus - vagrant
Accipitridae
- Christmas Island Goshawk, Accipiter natalis - endemic species
- White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Haliaeetus leucogaster - vagrant
- Oriental Honey Buzzard, Pernis ptilorhynchus - vagrant
Falconidae
- Nankeen Kestrel, Falco cenchroides - breeding
- Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus - vagrant
- Oriental Hobby, Falco severus - vagrant
Rallidae
- White-breasted Waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus - breeding
- Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra - vagrant
- Watercock, Gallicrex cinerea - vagrant
- Ruddy-breasted Crake, Porzana fusca - vagrant
- Black-tailed Native-hen, Gallinula ventralis - vagrant
Scolopacidae
- Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos - regular visitor
- Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria interpres - regular visitor
- Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata - vagrant
- Sanderling, Calidris alba - regular visitor
- Curlew Sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea - vagrant
- Red-necked Stint, Calidris ruficollis - regular visitor
- Long-toed Stint, Calidris subminuta - vagrant
- Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris - vagrant
- Pin-tailed Snipe, Gallinago stenura - vagrant
- Bar-tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica - vagrant
- Little Curlew, Numenius minutus - vagrant
- Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus - regular visitor
- Grey-tailed Tattler, Tringa brevipes - vagrant
- Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola - regular visitor
- Common Greenshank, Tringa nebularia - regular visitor
- Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis - vagrant
- Terek Sandpiper, Xenus cinereus - vagrant
- Common Redshank, Tringa totanus - vagrant
Haematopodidae
- Sooty Oystercatcher, Haematopus fuliginosus - vagrant
Recurvirostridae
- Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus - vagrant
Charadriidae
- Little Ringed Plover, Charadrius dubius - vagrant
- Greater Sand Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii - regular visitor
- Lesser Sand Plover, Charadrius mongolus - regular visitor
- Oriental Plover, Charadrius veredus - vagrant
- Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva - regular visitor
- Grey Plover, Pluvialis squatarola - vagrant
- Masked Lapwing, Vanellus miles - vagrant
Glareolidae
- Oriental Pratincole, Glareola maldivarum - vagrant
- Australian Pratincole, Stiltia isabella - vagrant
Laridae
- Common Noddy, Anous stolidus - breeding
- Whiskered Tern, Chlidonias hybridus - vagrant
- White Tern, Gygis alba - vagrant
- Mew Gull, Larus canus - vagrant
- Arctic Jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus - vagrant
- Crested Tern, Sterna bergii - vagrant
- Sooty Tern, Sterna fuscata - vagrant
Columbidae
- Emerald Dove, Chalcophaps indica natalis - endemic subspecies
- Pied Imperial-Pigeon, Ducula bicolor - vagrant
- Christmas Island Imperial-Pigeon, Ducula whartoni - endemic species
- Red Turtle-Dove, Streptopelia tranquebarica - vagrant
Psittacidae
- Rose-ringed Parakeet, Psittacula krameri - introduced, breeding?
Cuculidae
- Horsefield's Bronze-Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx basalis - vagrant
- Pallid Cuckoo, Cuculus pallidus - vagrant
- Oriental Cuckoo, Cuculus saturatus - vagrant
- Asian Koel, Eudynamys scolopacea - vagrant
Strigidae
- Christmas Island Hawk-Owl, Ninox natalis - endemic species
Caprimulgidae
- Savanna Nightjar, Caprimulgus affinis - vagrant
Apodidae
- Fork-tailed Swift, Apus pacificus - vagrant
- Needletail, Hirundapus sp. - vagrant
- Christmas Island Glossy Swiftlet, Collocalia esculenta natalis - endemic subspecies
Alcedinidae
- Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis - vagrant
Halcyonidae
- Collared Kingfisher, Todiramphus chloris - vagrant
- Sacred Kingfisher, Todiramphus sanctus - vagrant
Coraciidae
- Dollarbird, Eurystomus orientalis - vagrant
Pittidae
- Blue-winged Pitta, Pitta moluccensis - vagrant
Laniidae
- Brown Shrike, Lanius cristatus - vagrant
Motacillidae
- White Wagtail, Motacilla alba - vagrant
- Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea - regular visitor
- Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava - vagrant
Passeridae
- Java Sparrow, Padda oryzivora - introduced, breeding
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus - breeding
Hirundinidae
- Asian House Martin, Delichon dasypus - vagrant
- Red-rumped Swallow, Hirundo daurica - vagrant
- Tree Martin, Hirundo nigricans - vagrant
- Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica - regular visitor
Zosteropidae
- Christmas Island White-eye, Zosterops natalis - endemic species
Muscicapidae
- Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Cyanoptila cyanomelana - vagrant
- Christmas Island Thrush, Turdus poliocephalus erythropleurus - endemic subspecies
Sturnidae
- Purple-backed Starling, Sturnus sturninus - vagrant

[edit] References

Birding-Aus Mailing List Archives
Birds Australia Rarities Committee decisions and case summaries
Birds WA sightings
Carter, Mike. (1994). Birds of Australia’s Christmas Island. Wingspan 13: 18-21.
Garnett, Stephen T.; & Crowley, Gabriel M. (2000). The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000. Environment Australia: Canberra. ISBN 0-642-54683-5
Reville, Barry J. (1993). A Visitor’s Guide to the Birds of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Christmas Island Natural History Association: Christmas Island. ISBN 0-9591210-4-8
Stattersfield, Alison J.; Crosby, Michael J.; Long, Adrian J.; & Wege, David C. (1998). Endemic Bird Areas of the World. Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation. BirdLife International: Cambridge. ISBN 0-946888-33-7