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Geographic Range The Fregata andrewsi is a species of birds that are known ordinarily as Christmas Island frigatebirds. They derive this name from the fact that they only breed on the Christmas Island. This island is off the northern coastline of Australia, within the Indian Ocean When these birds are not breeding, they move throughout South East Asia and across the Indian Ocean. Occasionally, they can be spotted in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Bali, Keeling Islands and Andaman Islands. The native homes for the Christmas Island frigatebirds are therefore oriental, Australian and Indian Ocean regions. Habitat The home of Christmas Island frigatebirds is tropical as well as subtropical waters within the Indian Ocean. They like to spend most of their time in the sea. The only come to the land in order to breed. They normally roost communally, together with other Christmas Island frigatebirds. Their main breeding areas are the dry forests that are found within the Christmas Island. At this time, the species love waters that have low salinity levels. Description These sea birds are black and they have forked tails. Their bills are long and hooked. Both males and females share a distinct feature: a white patch in the belly. They also have pale bars outer parts of the upperwing. The chest patch of the females extends to the breast. The males have a gular porch that is darkish gray in color. The bill of female species is pink while the throat is black. Juveniles spot a blue bill and their head is pale yellow in color. For these birds, the most of the body is brown while the tail has a blackish hue. Breeding The age at which Christmas Island frigatebirds attain sexual and reproductive maturity is between five and seven years in the case of male birds. These birds prefer not to mate with partners with which they have mated in previous years. They also choose to make use of new nesting sites with the onset of every new season. Males tend to select their mates as well as mating sites. By the end of February, every bird has a partner. The next thing is building a nesting site. The site is always close to the display site where all members of the colony did courtships. Incidentally, there are only three colonies in the whole of Christmas Island. These are Dyers, Golf Course and Cemetery. These are truly wonderful birds. These birds seem to be very selective when it comes to choice of nesting sites especially during the breeding season. When the right tree is chosen, the nest has to be made at the topmost branch. Studies done on the Golf Course colony have revealed that the most preferred species for building nests are Celtis tmorensis and Terminalia catappa. 65.5 per cent of birds in this colony choose to build their nests in either of these two tree species. Ficus is another favorite tree where members of this colony build nests. The Christmas Island frigatebird is typically a monogamous bird when it comes to mating systems.
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