National recovery plan for the Christmas Island Frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi)

The Christmas Island Frigatebird is the rarest endemic seabird on Christmas Island and is listed as Vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). In Australia, it is confined to Christmas Island where it breeds in terrace forests in only three small areas totaling about 170 ha in extent. The total population size, last estimated in the early 1980's was approximately 1620 pairs. Limits to total population size are unknown, however considerable areas of former breeding habitat have been cleared and the species was likely more numerous prior to this loss of habitat. Breeding areas of the Christmas Island Frigatebird are now threatened by the invasive Crazy Ant. These ants potentially threaten individual breeding birds as well as the nesting trees. Crazy Ants pose an imminent, extreme 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.