- Christmas Frigatebird
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Christmas Frigatebird Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Fregatidae Genus: Fregata Species: F. andrewsi Binomial name Fregata andrewsi
Mathews, 1914The Christmas Frigatebird or 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 ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), which has devastated the wildlife of the island, and has 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.
The binomial of this bird commemorates the British palaeontologist Charles William Andrews.
References
- BirdLife International (2005). Fregata andrewsi. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. 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
External links
Categories:- IUCN Red List critically endangered species
- Birds of Australia
- Fauna of Christmas Island
- Fregata
- Birds of India
- Birds of Western Australia
- Critically endangered fauna of Australia
- Animals described in 1914
- Bird stubs
- Australia stubs
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