Image copyright RE Johnstone, WA Museum Other namesįairy Tern, White Noddy and Cocos Fairy Tern. White Tern in flight, photographed on Horsburgh Island The long thick tapering bill with serrated edges is especially designed for seizing fish under water. They feed mainly on fish and squid often caught on moonlight nights and flying fish are sometimes taken in flight. These birds are well known for their spectacular plunge-diving, sometimes from great heights. In the eastern Indian Ocean a very common resident on Christmas Island and North Keeling Island and also breeding on Ashmore Reef and Adele Island. Life spanīreeding on islands in tropical Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The single egg is chalky white over pale blue, but quickly becomes nest stained. Nest varies from a frail platform to a substantial bowl built in the canopy of trees and made with twigs and lined with finer leafy stems and quickly becoming covered with excreta. Breeds mainly in large colonies from April to June. Breedingĭiffers from most other boobies by nesting and roosting in trees. Generally silent at sea, but at nest site a sharp grating “karr-ak”. Juveniles differ from adults in being all brown or greyish brown with yellowish grey legs. The eye is dark brown, the bill is pale, facial skin is pink, throat pouch blue grey to pink and legs and feet bright red. Sometimes the rest of the white plumage also tinged yellow and the wing tips are brownish black. DescriptionĪdult birds from Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are mostly white except for pale golden buff on the head, neck and rump. Not globally threatened and one of the most common and widespread of all the boobies. Image copyright RE Johnstone, WA Museum Threatened Status Red-footed Booby photographed on Christmas Island At the bottom of this page, information sheets in English, Malay and Chinese can be downloaded. This page explores a selection of birds from the Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas Islands. It has been the subject of environmental assessment for several years.Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas Island BirdsĪrticle | Updated 5 years ago Abbott's Booby, female and chick - photographed on Christmas Island, August 2007 The phosphate exploration proposal was located on the eastern side of the island, in rainforest areas. The phosphate operations on Christmas Island have been targeted for many years by environmental activists but the local council has warned failure to allow the proposed exploration could precipitate a major collapse in the local economy. There have only been 11 refusals under the EPBC Act over its 20-year history. The then environment minister, Peter Garrett, refused an extension of the mine on the basis it would create unacceptable impacts on the island’s biodiversity. The environment minister said the land clearing could result in the introduction of aggressive weed species with the capacity to overwhelm native vegetation and to alter the structure of the surrounding forest.Ī report in 2010 found Christmas Island had been subjected to severe ecological stress triggered by land clearing for phosphate mining. “The government has determined that this particular proposal is likely to have unacceptable impacts on the environment of Christmas Island including the endangered Abbott’s booby, whose rainforest home on the island is the only remaining nesting habitat for this bird in the world,” Frydenberg said. “Environmental damage on small islands has a far greater impact because of its limited capacity to recover from declines in biodiversity caused by the cumulative effects of land clearing, habitat fragmentation and invasive species compared to large land masses.Ĭhristmas Island is home to 254 species that exist nowhere else in the world including the migrating crabs and rare seabirds. Red crabs moving from the ocean the forest on Christmas Island in 2005.
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