• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	C2a(ii)	C1+2a(ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2022	Vulnerable	C1+2a(ii)
2018	Critically Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii,v)
2016	Critically Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii,v)
2015	Critically Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii,v)
2013	Critically Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii,v)
2012	Critically Endangered	B2ab(ii,iii,v)
2010	Critically Endangered	B2a+b(ii,iii,v)
2009	Critically Endangered	B2a+b(ii,iii,v)
2008	Critically Endangered
2007	Critically Endangered
2005	Critically Endangered
2004	Critically Endangered
2000	Critically Endangered
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	40 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	7,160,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	40 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2400-5000,3700 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2020
Population trend	decreasing	good	estimated	1970-2025
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	22-26%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	5-19%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	22-26%	-	-	-
Generation length	18.4 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: There have been five estimates in the last three generations: 1,300 pairs in 1985 (Stokes 1988), 1,466±325 in 2003, 1,392±102 in 2004 (James 2014), 1,050 in 2016 and 1,200 in 2017 (J.C. Hennicke unpublished). Taking a different approach based on genetics, Morris-Pocock et al. (2012) estimated the population at 5,000 mature individuals. The best estimate of mature individuals is the mean of the two methods.

Trend justification: Historically, there were estimated to be 6,300 annual breeding pairs, but a loss of breeding habitat apparently owing to habitat clearance and dust fallout from phosphate mining, marine pollution, overfishing and bycatch in fishing gear has caused declines.  Although land-based threats are no longer thought to be prevalent, declines are projected to continue principally owing to the ongoing threat of persecution by fishing activities (Macgregor et al. 2021). Surveys from 2008-2013 show an ongoing declining trend in breeding numbers (Hennicke 2014). There have been five estimates in the last three generations: 1,300 pairs in 1985 (Golf Course 850 nests, Cemetery 350, Dryers 100; Stokes 1988), 1,466±325 in 2003, 1,392±102 in 2004 (James 2014), 1,050 in 2016 and 1,200 in 2017 (J. C. Hennicke unpublished, in Macgregor et al. 2021). This species breeds biennially, so the increase between 2016 and 2017 cannot be interpreted as an increase in mature individuals. Using the five estimates of breeding pairs, there was an approximate decline of c.20-25% over the last three generations (Macgregor et al. 2021).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Australia	extant	vagrant			yes
Brunei	extant	native	yes
Cambodia	extant	native			yes
China (mainland)	extant	native	yes
Christmas Island (to Australia)	extant	native		yes
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (to Australia)	extant	vagrant			yes
Hong Kong (China)	extant	native	yes
India	extant	vagrant			yes
Indonesia	extant	native	yes
Japan	extant	vagrant			yes
Malaysia	extant	native	yes
Philippines	extant	native			yes
Singapore	extant	native			yes
Sri Lanka	extant	native	yes
Thailand	extant	native	yes
Timor-Leste	extant	native	yes
Vietnam	extant	vagrant			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Cambodia	Koh Tang Archipelago
Christmas Island (to Australia)	Christmas Island
Indonesia	Pulau Dua
Indonesia	Pulau Rambut
Indonesia	Ujung Kulon
Malaysia	Bako-Buntal Bay
Malaysia	Mantanani islands
Malaysia	Sipadan islands
Malaysia	Tanjung Datu-Samunsam Protected Area
Malaysia	Tempasuk plains
Thailand	Hat Nopharat Thara - Mu Ko Phi Phi

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Estuaries	suitable	resident
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	resident
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	resident
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(max) 357 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Small-holder farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Very Rapid Declines		High Impact: 8
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Anoplolepis gracilipes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects
Pollution	Garbage & solid waste	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/christmas-island-frigatebird-fregata-andrewsi on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.