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OF KIRIBATI I LC Te Mouakena Rarely on the Ground

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OF KIRIBATI I LC Te Mouakena Rarely on the Ground Red-footed Booby REFERENCE CHECKLIST Sula sula Te Koota INDIGENOUS SPECIES Wedge-tailed Shearwater Phoenix Petrel Puffinus pacificus I LC A POCKET GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF BIRDS Pterodroma alba Audubon’s Shearwater Phoenix Petrel Lesser Frigatebird Te Tanguoua Masked Booby GI PI LI Te Ruru Puffinus lherminieri Sula dactylatra Nests in trees, usually in groups, Bulwer’s Petrel Pacific Reef Heron Te N’na OF KIRIBATI I LC Te Mouakena rarely on the ground. I EN Wedge-tailed Shearwater Great Crested Tern PI LI I LC L = 71 cm W = 152 cm PI LI Red-tailed Tropicbird I LC Christmas Shearwater Black-naped Tern Nests in underground burrow in sandy areas, Bright red feet. Dark phase (more common) brown Nests on ground under vegetation on PI Phaethon rubricauda sometimes in large dense colonies. PI LI with white head, neck, and tail. White phase white Audubon’s Shearwater Grey-backed Tern predator-free islands. Nests on ground in burrow, sometimes under vegetation. Te Taake Lesser Frigatebird L = 46 cm W = 98 cm Nests on ground in the open. with black wings. Immature mottled brown and White-throated Storm-petrel Sooty Tern L = 35 cm W = 83 cm L = 31 cm W = 69 cm Fregata ariel Dark phase (more common) all dark, light phase has I LC L = 86 cm W = 152 cm white with indistinct border on belly. Plunges head Red-tailed Tropicbird Brown Noddy White on belly, underwings dark except for pale leading Smaller than other shearwaters. White below extending onto Te Eitei Are e Aki Rangi Ni Bubura white on breast, belly, and under wings. GI PI LI Very large. White with black wings and black tail, first into water from high in the air to catch fish. edge, bill short and thick. face and flanks. High, laughing calls at night. White-tailed Tropicbird Black Noddy Bill longer and thinner than petrels. Feet pinkish. yellow bill with bluish base. Plunges head first into Nests on ground, under trees,shrubs or coral I LC Moaning calls at night. water from high in the air to catch fish. Masked Booby Blue Noddy overhangs. PI LI L = 78 cm W = 107 cm Brown Booby White Tern Nests on ground or in bushes, sometimes in dense colonies. Almost entirely white, red bill, long red tail Pacific Pigeon L = 76 cm W = 184 cm Red-footed Booby streamers. Loud screeching call when K Slightly smaller than the Great Frigatebird. Males have a white mark at base of Great Frigatebird IRI disturbed. wing, females have black throat. Immature Lesser Frigatebirds have variable ba rufous head. Chases other seabirds and steals food from them. ENDEMIC SPECIES MIGRANTS TI A Pocket Guide to the Birds of Kiribati Kiritimati Reed-warbler Pacific Golden Plover Wandering Tattler INTRODUCED SPECIES Bristle-thighed Curlew Christmas Shearwater Red Jungle Fowl Bar-tailed Godwit Puffinus nativitatis White-throated Storm-petrel Te Tinebu Feral Pigeon Ruddy Turnstone Nesofregetta fuliginosa Te Bwebwe Ni Marawa Kuhl’s Lorikeet Long-tailed Koel The Birds of Kiribati I LC Common Myna PI LI The islands of the Republic of Kiribati span over 3,500,000 km2 of ocean but together I EN Jungle Myna account for only 811 km2 of land. The islands are divided into three groups – the Gilbert CODE KEY Nests on ground under vegetation, LI PI Islands, Phoenix Islands and Line Islands (which includes Kiritimati Atoll). The Kiribati Distribution sometimes in burrow. Nests on ground in dense grass or in crevices. White-tailed Tropicbird Brown Booby islands are host to a number of bird species many of which are found on only a few islands. Bulwer’s Petrel L = 36 cm W = 76 cm Only on predator-free islands. Phaethon lepturus Sula leucogaster Great Frigatebird Pacific Reef Heron I = Indigenous LI = Line Islands Fregata minor Egretta sacra Many sensitive species are restricted to predator-free islands or motu. Several introduced Bulweria bulwerii Smaller and darker than Wedge-tailed L = 24 cm W = 51 cm Te Ngutu Te Kibwi or Te Korobwaro E = Endemic PI = Phoenix Islands species are found mostly around towns and harbours. No I-Kiribati name Shearwater with shorter tail and more Small, white collar, long legs. Te Eitei Are e Bubura Te Kaai In = Introduced GI = Gilbert Islands rounded wings, calls softer and lower. At sea may patter with feet on water surface. I LC I LC I LC I LC Bill thinner than petrels. Identifying Birds I LC GI PI LI PI LI GI PI LI GI PI IUCN Redlist Status Size PI Many birds are most active in the morning, and some seabirds arrive and depart from Nests in tree cavity or among coconut palm fronds. Nests on ground in the open. Nests in bushes, sometimes in loose colonies. Breeds GI. Forages along shoreline Nests on ground in rocky crevice. L = 78 cm W = 92 cm L = 69 cm W = 141 cm L = 93 cm W = 218 cm especially exposed reefs. their nests at dawn and dusk. Useful features in identifying birds include the colouration LC = Least Concern L = length of bird and presence of any distinctive markings; the length, shape, and colour of the bill; the (bill to tail) L = 26 cm W = 67 cm White with black marks on the wings, yellow bill, long white tail streamers. Large. Brown back, head, and neck, sharp Very large with long slender wings. L = 66 cm W = 110 cm VU = Vulnerable length and colour of the legs; bird’s size and wingspan; foraging habitat (ocean, shoreline, All dark with pale stripe across inner upperwing, border with white belly except juvenile. Bill Males black with inflatable red throat pouch. Only heron in the region. Long thin neck, W = wingspan vegetation); nesting habits (on the ground, in a tree, in a burrow); and calls. All the birds EN = Endangered small head, short bill, tail longer and more pointed bluish in males, yellow in females. Plunges head Females have white belly and throat. Immature Great Frigatebirds long green legs, long yellow bill. Three colour except the migrants breed on the islands. than Christmas Shearwater. Soft barking call at night. first into water from high in the air to catch fish. have white head. Chases other seabirds and steals food from them. morphs; dark, white, and pied or intermediate. Bristle-thighed Curlew Numenius tahitiensis Sooty Tern Te Kewe Onychoprion fuscatus I VU Te Keeu/ Te Taraariki GI PI LI I LC Migrant. Forages for invertebrates on shoreline, Pacific Golden Plover GI PI LI lagoon edge and in forested areas. Nests in Alaska. Black Noddy White Tern Pacific Pigeon Kuhl’s Lorikeet Pluvialis fulva Nests on ground in huge dense Anous minutus Gygis alba L = 42 cm W = 82 cm Ruddy Turnstone Black-naped Tern Ducula pacifica Vini kuhlii Kiritimati Reed-warbler Te Kun colonies. Feeds at sea often in large Te Mangikiri Te Matawa Jungle Myna Long curved bill, long legs, stripes on head. Kiribati name Arenaria interpres Sterna sumatrana Te Bitin Te Kura Acrocephalus aequinoctialis flocks far from shore. Acridotheres fuscus reflects its loud call, often given in flight. Te Kitibwa Te Kiakia Bokikokiko I LC L = 43 cm W = 90 cm. I LC I LC Mwaina I LC GI PI LI In EN I LC I LC White below, black above, GI PI LI GI PI LI GI In EN Migrant. Forages for invertebrates on shoreline, coral, lagoon edge and inland white patch on forehead smaller than LI GI PI LI GI Nests in trees, often in loose colonies. Egg laid on bare branch or coral rock, In LC grassy areas. Nests in Alaska and Siberia. in Grey-backed Tern, forked tail. Forests, nests in large trees. Feeds and nests in coconut trees. LI Migrant. Forages for invertebrates on shoreline, lagoon edge and in inland Nests on ground on sandy beach or coral. May feed close to shore, Feeds at sea, typically close to shore. no nest. Feeds at sea often far from land. GI L = 41 cm Endangered in its native range on Rimatara. Larger trees L = 25 cm W = 50 cm grassy areas. Nests in northern Eurasia, Alaska, and Canada. typically in the lagoons, and a very short distance out to sea. L = 34 cm W = 76 cm L = 30 cm W = 78 cm Threatens to establish at Betio in the port area and spreading to other islands. Long greyish legs, short black bill. Non-breeding plumage (usual in Kiribati) Larger than Feral Pigeon, head and breast paler than rest of body. L = 18 cm L = 15 cm L = 24 cm W = 55 cm L = 31 cm W = 61 cm Similar to Brown Noddy but smaller, darker White with black eye, bill black with L = 25 cm brownish above, greyish-white below. Breeding plumage black below, white Common at South Tarawa. Only parrot in the Kiribati island group. Small, greyish-brown, pointed bill. Short orange legs, short black bill. Non-breeding plumage (usual in Kiribati) Small, white below, pale grey above, black line through eye, forked tail. black, thinner bill, more contrasting white cap. blue base. Invasive species and potential pest of fruit trees. Smaller than Common stripe on side and head, gold spots above. Small and brightly coloured. High pitched calls. Endemic to Kiritimati and recently confirmed on Washington. mottled brown above with black stripe on breast. Breeding plumage (on arrival in Myna, grey-black with orange bill and legs and white wing-bar. Kiribati and prior to departure) boldly patterned with black, white, and rufous. Acknowledgements Photo credits: Eric VanderWerf; NZ DOC (LTKoel); Phil Binder (K.Lorikeet). Grey-backed Tern Brown Noddy Layout and design: Joanne Aitken. Sterna lunata Anous stolidus Blue Noddy Text and information contributors: Eric VanderWerf, Ratita Bebe, Katareti Te Tarangongo Te Io Procelsterna cerulea Taabu and Wildlife Conservation Unit, Kiritimati Island, Alan Tye, Ray Te Raurau Pierce, Gillian Key, Posa Skelton, Seema Deo.
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