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.
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
Chinese Pond Heron, Ardeola bacchus - vagrant
Javan Pond Heron, Ardeola speciosa - vagrant
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
Northern Hobby, Falco subbuteo - 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
Lesser Noddy, Anous tenuirostris - vagrant
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
Christmas Island 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
Horsfield'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 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
(source:wikipedia)
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