Birds of Ashmore Reef
Encyclopedia
The Birds of Ashmore Reef comprise three main groups:
Procellariidae
Sulidae
Rallidae
Scolopacidae
Charadriidae
Motacillidae
Sylviidae
- SeabirdSeabirdSeabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, including at least five species of breeding terns, with several other seabirds, including petrels, recorded in the surrounding waters - MigratoryBird migrationBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
shorebirdWaderWaders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s en route from northern AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
to AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... - Landbirds, only three breeding species (two heronHeronThe herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s and a railRallidaeThe rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
) but several others, including passerinePasserineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
s, visit, either on migration to northern Australia or as vagrants
ProcellariidaeProcellariidaeThe family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...
- Bulwer's PetrelBulwer's PetrelThe Bulwer's Petrel is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae, and is one of two species in the genus Bulweria . This bird is named after the Scottish naturalist James Bulwer.- Description :...
, Bulweria bulwerii - vagrant - Jouanin's PetrelJouanin's PetrelJouanin's Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.It is found in Djibouti, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kenya, Maldives, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, and Yemen....
, Bulweria fallax - vagrant - Tahiti PetrelTahiti PetrelThe Tahiti Petrel, Pétrel De Tahiti, or Petrel De Tahití is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family....
, Pseudobulweria rostrata - vagrant - Wedge-tailed ShearwaterWedge-tailed ShearwaterThe Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a Muttonbird, like the Sooty Shearwater of New Zealand and the Short-tailed Shearwater of Australia...
, Puffinus pacificus - regular visitor - Swinhoe's Storm-PetrelSwinhoe's Storm-petrelSwinhoe's Storm Petrel, Oceanodroma monorhis also known as Swinhoe's Petrel is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family Hydrobatidae....
, Oceanodroma monorhis – vagrant
Phaethontidae
- White-tailed TropicbirdWhite-tailed TropicbirdThe White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans...
, Phaethon lepturus - regular visitor - Red-tailed TropicbirdRed-tailed TropicbirdThe Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the rarest of the tropicbirds, yet is still a widespread bird that is not considered threatened. It nests in colonies on oceanic islands....
, Phaethon rubricauda - regular visitor
SulidaeSulidaeThe bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...
- Abbott's BoobyAbbott's BoobyAbbott’s Booby is a large endangered seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Found normally only on and around Christmas Island Abbott’s Booby (Papasula abbotti) is a large endangered seabird of the gannet family, Sulidae. Found normally only on and around Christmas Island Abbott’s Booby (Papasula...
, Papasula abbotti - vagrant - Masked BoobyMasked BoobyThe Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby...
, Sula dactylatra - regular visitor - Brown BoobyBrown BoobyThe Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...
, Sula leucogaster - regular visitor - Red-footed BoobyRed-footed BoobyThe Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings...
, Sula sula - regular visitor
Fregatidae
- Lesser FrigatebirdLesser FrigatebirdThe Lesser Frigatebird, Fregata ariel, is a species of frigatebird.It nests in Australia, among other locations.There is a single record from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba....
, Fregata ariel - regular visitor - Great FrigatebirdGreat FrigatebirdThe Great Frigatebird is a large dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Major nesting populations are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as a population in the South Atlantic....
, Fregata minor - regular visitor
Ardeidae
- Great EgretGreat EgretThe Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...
, Ardea alba - vagrant - Little EgretLittle EgretThe Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....
, Egretta garzetta - breeding - Eastern Reef EgretEastern Reef EgretThe Eastern Reef Heron , also known as the Pacific Reef Egret or Eastern Reef Egret, is a kind of heron. They are found in many areas of Asia including the oceanic region of India, Southeast Asia, Japan, Polynesia, and in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand.Pacific Reef Herons are medium-sized...
, Egretta sacra - breeding - Nankeen Night HeronNankeen Night HeronThe Nankeen Night Heron, Nycticorax caledonicus, also commonly referred to as the Rufous Night Heron, and in Melanesia as Melabaob, is a medium-sized heron. It is found throughout much of Australia except the arid inland, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Melanesia...
, Nycticorax caledonicus – vagrant
RallidaeRallidaeThe rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
- White-breasted WaterhenWhite-breasted WaterhenThe White-breasted Waterhen is a waterbird of the rail and crake family Rallidae that is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. They are dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast and belly...
, Amaurornis phoenicurus - vagrant - Buff-banded RailBuff-banded RailThe Buff-banded Rail, Gallirallus philippensis is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the family Rallidae....
, Gallirallus philippensis – breeding
ScolopacidaeScolopacidaeThe sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...
- Common SandpiperCommon SandpiperThe Common Sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper , make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize...
, Actitis hypoleucos - passage migrant - Ruddy TurnstoneRuddy TurnstoneThe Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
, Arenaria interpres - passage migrant - SanderlingSanderlingThe Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
, Calidris alba - passage migrant - Red KnotRed KnotThe Red Knot, Calidris canutus , is a medium sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the Great Knot...
, Calidris canutus - passage migrant - Curlew SandpiperCurlew SandpiperThe Curlew Sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australasia...
, Calidris ferruginea - passage migrant - Red-necked StintRed-necked StintThe Red-necked Stint is a small migratory wader.- Description :These birds are among the smallest of waders, very similar to the Little Stint, Calidris minuta, with which they were once considered conspecific...
, Calidris ruficollis - passage migrant - Great KnotGreat KnotThe Great Knot, Calidris tenuirostris, is a small wader. It is the largest of the calidrid species.Their breeding habitat is tundra in northeast Siberia. They nest on the ground laying about four eggs in a ground scrape. They are strongly migratory wintering on coasts in southern Asia through to...
, Calidris tenuirostris - passage migrant - ?SnipeSnipeA snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...
, Gallinago sp.GallinagoGallinago is a genus of birds in the wader family Scolopacidae, containing 16 species. This genus contains the majority of the world's snipe species, the other three extant genera being Coenocorypha, with two species, and Lymnocryptes, the Jack Snipe. Morphologically, they are all similar, with a...
- passage migrant - Grey-tailed TattlerGrey-tailed TattlerThe Grey-tailed Tattler, Tringa brevipes , is a small shorebird.- Description :...
, Heteroscelus brevipes - passage migrant - Asian Dowitcher, Limnodromus semipalmatus - passage migrant
- Bar-tailed GodwitBar-tailed GodwitThe Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
, Limosa lapponica - passage migrant - Black-tailed GodwitBlack-tailed GodwitThe Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
, Limosa limosa - passage migrant - Eastern Curlew, Numenius madagascariensis - passage migrant
- Little CurlewLittle CurlewThe Little Curlew, Numenius minutus, is a wader in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It is a very small curlew, which breeds in the far north of Siberia. It is closely related to the North American Eskimo Curlew....
, Numenius minutus - passage migrant - WhimbrelWhimbrelThe Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland....
, Numenius phaeopus - passage migrant - Common Greenshank, Tringa nebularia - passage migrant
- Marsh SandpiperMarsh SandpiperThe Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis, is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to central Asia....
, Tringa stagnatilis - passage migrant - Common RedshankCommon RedshankThe Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
, Tringa totanus - passage migrant
CharadriidaeCharadriidaeThe bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...
- Greater Sand PloverGreater Sand PloverThe Greater Sand Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as "Greater sandplover", but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is "Greater sand plover"....
, Charadrius leschenaultii - passage migrant - Lesser Sand PloverLesser Sand PloverThe Lesser Sand Plover, Charadrius mongolus, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as Lesser Sandplover, but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is Lesser Sand Plover....
, Charadrius mongolus - passage migrant - Oriental PloverOriental PloverThe Oriental Plover, Charadrius veredus, also known as the Oriental Dotterel, is a medium-sized Charadriine plover closely related to the Caspian Plover.- Description :...
, Charadrius veredus - passage migrant - Pacific Golden PloverPacific Golden PloverThe Pacific Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover.The 23–26 cm long breeding adult is spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black...
, Pluvialis fulva - passage migrant - Grey PloverGrey PloverThe Grey Plover , known as the Black-bellied Plover in North America, is a medium-sized plover breeding in arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding....
, Pluvialis squatarola – vagrant
Laridae
- Long-tailed Jaeger, Stercorarius longicaudus - vagrant
- Arctic Jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus - vagrant
- Pomarine Jaeger, Stercorarius pomarinus - vagrant
- Black NoddyBlack NoddyThe Black Noddy or White-capped Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. It resembles the closely related Brown or Common Noddy , but is smaller with darker plumage, a whiter cap, a longer, straighter beak and shorter tail...
, Anous minutus - breeding - Common Noddy, Anous stolidus - breeding
- Lesser NoddyLesser NoddyThe Lesser Noddy , also known as the Sooty Noddy, is a species of tern in the Sternidae family.It is found in Comoros, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, and United Arab Emirates.- References :...
, Anous tenuirostris - possibly breeding - Little TernLittle TernThe Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...
, Sterna albifrons - vagrant - Bridled TernBridled TernThe Bridled Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans.-Description:...
, Sterna anaethetus - breeding - Crested Tern, Sterna bergii - breeding
- Sooty TernSooty TernThe Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
, Sterna fuscata – breeding
Cuculidae
- Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx basalis - vagrant
- Little Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx minutillus - vagrant
- Gould's Bronze Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx russatus - vagrant
- Oriental CuckooOriental CuckooThe Himalayan Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the genus Cuculus. It breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter....
, Cuculus saturatus - vagrant - Common KoelCommon koelThe common koels are three species of cuckoos. They have commonly been considered conspecific under the scientific name Eudynamys scolopaceus, but are increasingly treated as separate species:* Asian Koel, Eudynamys scolopaceus....
, Eudynamys scolopacea – vagrant
Apodidae
- House SwiftHouse SwiftThe House Swift is a species of swift in the Apodidae family.It is found in Nepal, and Southeast Asia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Little Swift.-References:...
, Apus affinis - vagrant - Fork-tailed SwiftFork-tailed SwiftFork-tailed Swift is the historic name of a kind of bird which has since been divided taxonomically into four species. It could refer to any of four different species of swifts:*Pacific Swift, Apus pacificus*Salim Ali's Swift, Apus salimali...
, Apus pacificus – vagrant
Halcyonidae
- Collared KingfisherCollared KingfisherThe Collared Kingfisher is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the family Halcyonidae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the White-collared Kingfisher or Mangrove Kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia and Australasia to Polynesia...
, Todiramphus chloris – vagrant - Sacred KingfisherSacred KingfisherThe Sacred Kingfisher is primarily a woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys of Australia, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., New Guinea, N...
, Todiramphus sanctus – vagrant
MotacillidaeMotacillidaeThe Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and...
- Pechora PipitPechora PipitThe Pechora Pipit is a small passerine bird which breeds in the tundra of northern Asia, eastwards of Russia. It is a long-distance migrant, moving in winter to Indonesia. Rarely in September and October, the Pechora Pipit may be observed in western Europe.-Appearance:A. gustavi is a small pipit,...
, Anthus gustavi - vagrant - Grey WagtailGrey WagtailThe Grey Wagtail is a small member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae. The species looks similar to the Yellow Wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to the throat and vent. Breeding males have a black throat...
, Motacilla cinerea - vagrant - Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava - passage migrant
Passeridae
- Pale-headed MuniaPale-headed MuniaThe Pale-headed Munia, Lonchura pallida is a species of estrildid finch found in Indonesia. It is found in artificial landscapes, subtropical and tropical lowlands, dry shrubland and grassland habitat. The status of the species is evaluated as Least Concern.-Origin:Origin and phylogeny has been...
, Lonchura pallida – vagrant - Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus - resident
SylviidaeSylviidaeSylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...
- Oriental Reed-WarblerOriental Reed-warblerThe Oriental Reed-warbler is a passerine bird of eastern Asia belonging to the reed-warbler genus Acrocephalus. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the Great Reed-warbler of western Eurasia....
, Acrocephalus orientalis - vagrant - Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella ochotensis - vagrant
- Pallas's Grasshopper WarblerPallas's Grasshopper WarblerThe Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella certhiola, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in east Asia. It is migratory, wintering from India east to Indonesia....
, Locustella certhiola - vagrant - Tawny GrassbirdTawny GrassbirdThe Tawny Grassbird is a songbird species of the grass- and bush-warbler family . It was formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage....
, Megalurus timoriensis - vagrant - Arctic WarblerArctic WarblerThe Arctic Warbler, Phylloscopus borealis, is a widespread leaf warbler in birch or mixed birch forest near water throughout its breeding range in Fennoscandia and northern Asia. It has established a foothold in North America, breeding in Alaska. This warbler is strongly migratory; the entire...
, Phylloscopus borealis - regular visitor - Yellow-browed WarblerYellow-browed WarblerThe Yellow-browed Warbler is a leaf warbler which breeds in temperate Asia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters mainly in tropical southeast Asia, but also in small numbers in western Europe...
, Phylloscopus inornatus - vagrant
Sources
- Birds Australia Rarities Committee – decisions and case summaries
- Birding-Aus Mailing List Archives
- Birds WA sightings
- Commonwealth of Australia. (2002). Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve and Cartier Island Marine Reserve (Commonwealth Waters) Management Plans. Environment Australia: Canberra.