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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda	LC	resident (1984)	1,380 pairs	A4ii
White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus	LC	resident (1984–1988)	600–12,000 pairs	A4ii
Christmas Island Imperial-pigeon Ducula whartoni	LC	resident (2000–2006)	1,000–10,000 mature individuals	A1
Great Frigatebird Fregata minor	LC	resident (1984)	6,500 birds	A4ii
Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi	VU	resident (2003)	1,200–2,400 pairs	A1, A4ii
Abbott's Booby Papasula abbotti	EN	resident (2002)	1,500–2,500 pairs	A1, A4ii
Red-footed Booby Sula sula	LC	resident (1984)	12,050 pairs	A4ii
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster	LC	resident (1984)	4,910 pairs	A4ii
Christmas Island Boobook Ninox natalis	VU	resident (1996)	1,000 birds	A1
Christmas Island White-eye Zosterops natalis	LC	breeding (2004–2006)	20,000 birds	A1
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	- (-)	10,000 pairs	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2016) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Energy production and mining	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Pollution	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Residential and commercial development	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1989	Christmas Island	National Park (Commonwealth) (II)	64

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Forest	60	Rainforest & vine thickets
Introduced vegetation	25
Artificial/Terrestrial	5	Other urban & industrial areas
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	5
Shrubland	5	Closed shrublands & low closed woodlands

Land use	% of IBA
energy production and mining	major (>10)
nature conservation and research	major (>10)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)

Mostly owned and managed by Parks Australia (for the federal government) and Phosphate Resources Ltd.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Christmas Island (Christmas Island (to Australia)). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/christmas-island-iba-christmas-island-(to-australia) on 22/12/2024.