Christmas Island Frigatebird
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| Fregata andrewsi Mathews, 1914 |
The Christmas Island frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi) is a frigatebird endemic to the Christmas Islands in the Indian Ocean. Like other frigatebirds, this species does not walk or swim, but is a very aerial bird which obtains its food by picking up live prey items from beaches or the water surface, and the aerial piracy of other birds.
It is estimated that the population of this species will decline by 80 percent in the next 30 years due to predation of the young by the introduced yellow crazy ants species (Anoplolepis gracilipes), which have devastated the wildlife of the island, and have also killed 10–20 million Christmas Island red crabs.
The adult male of this species is easily identified, since it is all black except for a white belly patch. Other plumages resemble those of the smaller Lesser Frigatebird, but have whiter bellies and longer white underwing spurs.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2005). Fregata andrewsi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map, a brief justification of why this species is critically endangered, and the criteria used
