Christmas Frigatebird

Fregata andrewsi Mathews, 1914

89–100 cmLength220 cmWingspan1.5 kgWeight

The adult male has long, narrow wings and a deeply forked tail, with a white belly patch on its black body.

Busiest months: November · Most records: Christmas Island, Malaysia, Indonesia

Vulnerable

How to identify

Field marks

Wings long and narrow
Tail deeply forked
Male has an oval white patch on the belly
Bill long with a curved tip

Male, female and young

Female slightly larger, with both breast and belly white.

Where and when it's recorded

Christmas Frigatebird has been recorded at 30 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 8 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.

Countries and regions with the most records

Christmas Island Malaysia Indonesia Thailand Singapore Philippines China Sri Lanka

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Christmas frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi) or Christmas Island frigatebird is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae which is an endemic breeder to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. Apart from the Ascension frigatebird, the three other species of frigatebird have much more widely distributed breeding locations.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Christmas Frigatebird?

The Christmas Frigatebird is about 89–100 cm long, with a wingspan of 220 cm and weighs around 1.5 kg.

Where does the Christmas Frigatebird live?

Its breeding range: Indian Ocean: Christmas Island (south of western Java). It is most often recorded in Christmas Island, Malaysia and Indonesia.

When is the best time to see the Christmas Frigatebird?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November (Southern Hemisphere).

Is the Christmas Frigatebird endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Christmas Frigatebird as Vulnerable.

What does the Christmas Frigatebird eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Christmas Frigatebird in?

It belongs to the family Frigatebirds (Fregatidae), order Suliformes.

At a glance

Length: 89–100 cm
Wingspan: 220 cm
Weight: 1.5 kg
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Feeds in the air
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Vulnerable

More measurements

Wing: 619 mm
Tail: 402 mm
Bill: 125 mm
Tarsus: 29 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Indian Ocean: Christmas Island (south of western Java)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order: Suliformes
Family: Frigatebirds Fregatidae
Genus: Fregata

Other birds in the genus Fregata

Ascension FrigatebirdFregata aquila

Magnificent FrigatebirdFregata magnificens

Lesser FrigatebirdFregata ariel

Great FrigatebirdFregata minor

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Tony Palliser. ↗

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