Animalia Life

Fregata andrewsi
TAXONOMY
Fregata andrewsi Mathews, 1914, Christmas Island.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Christmas Island frigatebird, Andrews’ frigatebird; French: Frйgate d’Andrews; German: Weissbrauch Fregattvogel; Spanish: Rabihorcado Grande.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Body length of 35–39 in (89–100 cm), a wingspan of 81–90 in (206–230 cm), and weight of about 2.6 lb (1.2 kg). Males and females have a white belly and a brown wing band. Females have a black throat, while males have a bright red, inflatable throat sac used in courtship displays.
DISTRIBUTION
Breeds on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean but may feed more widely in tropical and subtropical coastal waters of the eastern Indian and southwestern Pacific Oceans.
HABITAT
Inhabits tropical and subtropical coastal waters, often near mangrove forest.
BEHAVIOR
Like other frigatebirds, they are outstanding fliers, often soaring to impressive heights. They are silent at sea but noisy at their breeding colony.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feed on flying fish caught in the air, on other small fish, squid, and other marine food snatched at the sea’s surface, and on meals they force other seabirds to disgorge in flight. They also feed on fishery offal and by-catch and predate the eggs and young of other seabirds.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Lays a single egg in a low nest, usually built in a mangrove tree or shrub. The egg is incubated by both parents. The chick is naked when born and is fed by both parents. Sexual maturity is at 5–7 years.
CONSERVATION STATUS
This species is listed as Critically Endangered because it breeds on only one tiny island, where its small and rapidly decreasing population is threatened by poaching, habitat destruction by mining and settlement, and an introduced ant species.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Not of much importance to people, except for the economic benefits of ecotourism related to birdwatching.

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