Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2007B00392:body:0:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2007B00392
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 2808–5704

risk to the conservation of this and all Christmas Island birds. Much of the breeding colony areas of the Christmas Island Frigatebird lie outside the national park and do not have any formal protection. Other threats to the conservation of Christmas Island Frigatebirds include past pollution from phosphate mining, which has affected one nesting area, and the risk of catastrophic destruction of breeding colonies by wildfires or cyclones.

Background Information

Conservation Status
The Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi is the rarest of the five species of the family Fregatidae and breeds only on Christmas Island. It is listed as Vulnerable (ICBP 1981, Garnett 1992, EPBC Act) (B1, C2b), however Garnett & Crowley (2000) recommended it be considered Critically Endangered (A2c, e, B1, B2bce) due to the inferred impact of the Crazy Ant.

Taxonomic Status
The Christmas Island Frigatebird is one of three frigatebird species which breed on Christmas Island. The Greater Frigatebird (F. minor) is much more common on Christmas Island and has a much wider breeding distribution. The Lesser Frigatebird (F. ariel) was only recently discovered nesting on the island.

International Obligations
The Christmas Island Frigatebird is listed on the Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) and the China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA).

Distribution and population size
The Christmas Island Frigatebird breeds only on Christmas Island, a volcanic island in the Indian Ocean (10o0'S; 105o40' E), approximately 1400km northwest of Australia. The island sits on the northernmost edge of the Australasian continental plate, and immediately north the ocean floor drops into the Java Trench and depths of up to 6000m. The nearest land is Java in the Republic of Indonesia, which is 360km to the north. Christmas Island is truly oceanic and all its biota has colonised by sea or by air (Gray 1981). Christmas Island is 135km2 and 75% is covered with original vegetation (Environment Australia 2002).

When not breeding, Christmas Island Frigatebirds range widely around South-east Asia and the Indian Ocean, and are occasional visitors to the shores of Java, Sumatra, Bali, Borneo, the Andaman Is, Darwin and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Gore 1968, Marchant & Higgins 1990). It is possible the young birds are nomadic and wander widely until they reach breeding age, however, adults have also been seen far away from the island. It has been speculated they may breed somewhere in the Anamba-Natuna islands (Chasen 1933, Gibson-Hill 1947), but this was based only on sightings in the vicinity of these islands.

Three modern nesting colonies are known on Christmas Island: the golf course, cemetery and dryers colonies (Figure 1). Stokes (1988) reported that the golf course colony covered c. 40 ha, the cemetery colony c. 65 ha, and the dryers colony c. 66 ha.

Gibson-Hill