The 16 small atolls or limestone islands of this group (278 km² in total) are politically part of Kiribati (see also Secondary Area s134) in the west-central Pacific, south of the Marshall Islands (Secondary Area s123). Most of the scrub vegetation on the larger islands has been replaced by plantations of coconuts and breadfruit (Davis et al. 1986). These islands are treated as a Secondary Area because one restricted-range species, Micronesian Imperial-pigeon Ducula oceanica, which occurs in other Micronesian EBAs, has been recorded from Kuria and Aranuka, two of the atolls. Shy Ground-dove Gallicolumba stairii, a restricted-range species from central Polynesia (EBAs 202, 203), was introduced to nearby Abemama in c.1940, but its present status there is unknown (Pratt et al. 1987). Bristle-thighed Curlew Numenius tahitiensis (classified as Vulnerable), a restricted-range species which breeds in western Alaska (Secondary Area s002), winters on islands in the Pacific region including the Gilbert Islands.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Gilbert Islands. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/424 on 23/11/2024.