The terrestrial fauna of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka....

is unsurprisingly depauperate, because of the small land area of the islands, their lack of diverse habitats, and their isolation from large land-masses. However, the fauna

Fauna

Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

 dependent on marine resources is much richer.

Birds

As a small and isolated group of islands in two atoll

Atoll

An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...

s 24 km apart in the eastern Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

, the number of species of resident landbirds (as opposed to seabird

Seabird

Seabirds 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 and wader

Wader

Waders, 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) is very small. These comprise the endemic subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of Buff-banded Rail

Buff-banded Rail

The Buff-banded Rail, Gallirallus philippensis is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the family Rallidae....

, the introduced Green Junglefowl

Green Junglefowl

The Green Junglefowl, Gallus varius also known as Javan Junglefowl, Forktail or Green Javanese Junglefowl is a medium-sized, up to 75 cm long, bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae...

 and Helmeted Guineafowl

Helmeted Guineafowl

The Helmeted Guineafowl is the best known of the guineafowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus Numida...

, the White-breasted Waterhen

White-breasted Waterhen

The 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...

, Eastern Reef Egret

Eastern Reef Egret

The 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...

, Nankeen Night-Heron

Nankeen Night Heron

The 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...

 and the introduced Christmas Island White-eye

Christmas Island White-eye

The Christmas White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family. It is endemic to Christmas Island. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International...

. Four other introduced species are now extinct in the Islands. Several other landbird species have been recorded occasionally, but none has established a breeding population.

Migratory waders recorded in the islands include some regular visitors as well as vagrants. None breeds there. However, North Keeling

North Keeling

North Keeling is a small, uninhabited coral atoll of about 1.2 km2, about 25 km north of Horsburgh Island. It is the northernmost atoll and island of the Australian territory of the Cocos Islands...

 is important for breeding seabirds, with sizeable numbers of Red-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby

The 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...

, Great

Great Frigatebird

The 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....

 and Lesser Frigatebird

Lesser Frigatebird

The 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....

s, Common Noddy and White Tern

White Tern

The White Tern is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the Fairy Tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is the common name of the Fairy Tern Sternula nereis...

. Other breeding seabirds include Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

The 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...

, Masked Booby

Masked Booby

The 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...

, Brown Booby

Brown Booby

The 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...

, Red-tailed

Red-tailed Tropicbird

The 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....

 and White-tailed Tropicbird

White-tailed Tropicbird

The 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...

s, and Sooty Tern

Sooty Tern

The 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...

. It is possible that the Herald Petrel

Herald Petrel

The Trindade Petrel, Pterodroma arminjoniana, is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 35-39 cm in size, with a 88-102 cm wingspan....

 breeds there as well.

Presumably, before human occupation of the islands in the 19th century, seabirds bred on both atolls. However, with the establishment of a human population and the introduction of rodents to the southern atoll, significant seabird colonies are now restricted to the northern atoll of North Keeling. Although the Cocos islanders used to visit North Keeling regularly to harvest seabirds, this practice has largely ceased with the establishment of Pulu Keeling National Park in 1995.

List of birds

• Phasianidae
  Phasianidae
  The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...
  
  
  • Red Junglefowl
    Red Junglefowl
    The Red Junglefowl is a tropical member of the Pheasant family. They are thought to be ancestors of the domestic chicken with some hybridisation with the Grey Junglefowl...
    
    , Gallus gallus - feral domestic fowl
  • Green Junglefowl
    Green Junglefowl
    The Green Junglefowl, Gallus varius also known as Javan Junglefowl, Forktail or Green Javanese Junglefowl is a medium-sized, up to 75 cm long, bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae...
    
    , Gallus varius - introduced, breeding
  • Helmeted Guineafowl
    Helmeted Guineafowl
    The Helmeted Guineafowl is the best known of the guineafowl bird family, Numididae, and the only member of the genus Numida...
    
    , Numida meleagris - introduced, breeding
• Anatidae
  Anatidae
  Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...
  
  
  • Pacific Black Duck
    Pacific Black Duck
    The Pacific Black Duck is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the Grey Duck in New Zealand...
    
    , Anas superciliosa - vagrant
  • Common Teal
    Common Teal
    The Eurasian Teal or Common Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian Teal is often called simply the Teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range...
    
    , Anas crecca - vagrant
  • Hardhead
    Hardhead
    The Hardhead, Aythya australis, is the only true diving duck found in Australia. Hardheads are common in the south-east of Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin, but also in the wetter country near the coasts. They are moderately nomadic in normal years, but disperse widely in times...
    
    , Aythya australis - vagrant
• Procellariidae
  Procellariidae
  The 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 Petrel
    Bulwer's Petrel
    The 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
  • Herald Petrel
    Herald Petrel
    The Trindade Petrel, Pterodroma arminjoniana, is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 35-39 cm in size, with a 88-102 cm wingspan....
    
    , Pterodroma arminjoniana - possibly breeding
  • Wedge-tailed Shearwater
    Wedge-tailed Shearwater
    The 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 - breeding
• Diomedeidae
  • Yellow-nosed Albatross
    Yellow-nosed Albatross
    Yellow-nosed Albatross may refer to:Birds of genus Thalassarche:* Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, T. chlororhynchos* Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, T. carteri...
    
    , Thalassarche chlororhynchos - vagrant
• Phaethontidae
  • White-tailed Tropicbird
    White-tailed Tropicbird
    The 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 - breeding
  • Red-tailed Tropicbird
    Red-tailed Tropicbird
    The 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 - breeding
• Sulidae
  Sulidae
  The 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...
  
  
  • Masked Booby
    Masked Booby
    The 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 - breeding
  • Brown Booby
    Brown Booby
    The 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 - breeding
  • Red-footed Booby
    Red-footed Booby
    The 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 - breeding
• Phalacrocoracidae
  • Great Cormorant
    Great Cormorant
    The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...
    
    , Phalacrocorax carbo - vagrant
  • Little Black Cormorant
    Little Black Cormorant
    The Little Black Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It is common in smaller rivers and lakes throughout most areas of Australia and northern New Zealand. It is around sixty centimetres long, and is all black with blue-green eyes.-References: Database entry includes...
    
    , Phalacrocorax sulcirostris - vagrant
  • Little Pied Cormorant
    Little Pied Cormorant
    The Little Pied Cormorant, Little Shag or Kawaupaka is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the sub-Antarctic...
    
    , Phalacrocorax melanoleucos - vagrant
• Fregatidae
  • Christmas Island Frigatebird
    Christmas Island Frigatebird
    The Christmas Frigatebird or Christmas Island Frigatebird is a frigatebird endemic to the Christmas Islands in the Indian Ocean...
    
    , Fregata andrewsi - vagrant
  • Lesser Frigatebird
    Lesser Frigatebird
    The 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 - breeding
  • Great Frigatebird
    Great Frigatebird
    The 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 - breeding
• Ardeidae
  • Eastern Great Egret
    Eastern Great Egret
    The Eastern Great Egret is a white heron of the genus Ardea, is considered a subspecies of the Great Egret . Although a study argued for full species status in 2005, most taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies...
    
    , Ardea modesta - vagrant
  • Cattle Egret
    Cattle Egret
    The Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...
    
    , Ardea ibis - vagrant
  • Intermediate Egret
    Intermediate Egret
    The Intermediate Egret, Median Egret, or Yellow-billed Egret is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder from east Africa across tropical southern Asia to Australia. It often nests in colonies with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs...
    
    , Ardea intermedia - vagrant
  • Chinese Pond Heron
    Chinese Pond Heron
    The Chinese Pond Heron is an East Asian freshwater bird of the heron family .It is one of six species of birds known as "pond herons" . It is parapatric with the Indian Pond Heron to the west and the Javan Pond Heron The Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola bacchus) is an East Asian freshwater bird of...
    
    , Ardeola bacchus - vagrant
  • Striated Heron
    Striated Heron
    The Striated Heron, Butorides striata, also known as Mangrove Heron, Little Heron or Green-backed Heron, is a small heron. Striated Herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to...
    
    , Butorides striatus - vagrant
  • Little Egret
    Little Egret
    The 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?
  • White-faced Heron
    White-faced Heron
    The White-faced Heron, Egretta novaehollandiae, also known as the White-fronted Heron, and incorrectly as the Grey Heron, or Blue Crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, the islands of the Subantarctic, and...
    
    , Egretta novaehollandiae - vagrant
  • Eastern Reef Egret
    Eastern Reef Egret
    The 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
  • Western Reef Egret, Egretta gularis - vagrant
  • Nankeen Night-Heron, Nycticorax caledonicus - breeding
  • Black-crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax - vagrant
  • Black Bittern
    Black Bittern
    The Black Bittern, Ixobrychus flavicollis, is a bittern of Old World origin, breeding in tropical Asia from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka east to China, Indonesia and Australia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances....
    
    , Ixobrychus flavicollis - vagrant
  • Yellow Bittern
    Yellow Bittern
    The Yellow Bittern is a small bittern. It is of Old World origins, breeding in much of the Indian Subcontinent, east to Japan and Indonesia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances...
    
    , Ixobrychus sinensis - vagrant
• Threskiornithidae
  Threskiornithidae
  The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the...
  
  
  • Glossy Ibis
    Glossy Ibis
    The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...
    
    , Plegadis falcinellus - vagrant
• Phoenicopteridae
  • Greater Flamingo
    Greater Flamingo
    The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...
    
    , Phoenicopterus ruber - vagrant
• Accipitridae
  Accipitridae
  The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...
  
  
  • Swamp Harrier
    Swamp Harrier
    The Swamp Harrier also known as the Marsh Harrier, Australasian Harrier, Kāhu, Swamp-hawk or New Zealand Hawk is a large, slim bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.-Description:...
    
    , Circus approximans - vagrant
  • Chinese Sparrowhawk, Accipiter soloensis - vagrant
  • Japanese Sparrowhawk
    Japanese Sparrowhawk
    The Japanese Sparrowhawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers....
    
    , Accipiter gularis - vagrant
• Falconidae
  Falconidae
  The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...
  
  
  • Nankeen Kestrel
    Nankeen Kestrel
    The Australian Kestrel or Nankeen Kestrel is one of the smallest falcons, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. Instead, it simply perches in an exposed position, but it also has a distinctive technique of hovering over crop and grasslands...
    
    , Falco cenchroides - vagrant
• Rallidae
  Rallidae
  The 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 Waterhen
    White-breasted Waterhen
    The 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 - breeding
  • Cocos Buff-banded Rail
    Cocos Buff-banded Rail
    The Cocos Buff-banded Rail, Gallirallus philippensis andrewsi, is an endangered subspecies of the Buff-banded Rail endemic to the Cocos Islands, an Australian Offshore Territory in the central-eastern Indian Ocean...
    
    , Gallirallus philippensis andrewsi - endemic subspecies
  • Watercock
    Watercock
    The Watercock Gallicrex cinerea is a waterbird in the rail and crake family Rallidae. It is the only member of the genus Gallicrex....
    
    , Gallicrex cinerea - vagrant
• Scolopacidae
  Scolopacidae
  The 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 Sandpiper
    Common Sandpiper
    The 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 - regular visitor
  • Ruddy Turnstone
    Ruddy Turnstone
    The 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 - regular visitor
  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
    Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
    The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata is a small wader.- Taxonomy :More recently, a review of new data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus Philomachus- as P...
    
    , Calidris acuminata - vagrant
  • Sanderling
    Sanderling
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Curlew Sandpiper
    Curlew Sandpiper
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Red-necked Stint
    Red-necked Stint
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Red Knot
    Red Knot
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Great Knot
    Great Knot
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Pin-tailed Snipe, Gallinago stenura - vagrant
  • Grey-tailed Tattler
    Grey-tailed Tattler
    The Grey-tailed Tattler, Tringa brevipes , is a small shorebird.- Description :...
    
    , Heteroscelus brevipes - vagrant
  • Bar-tailed Godwit
    Bar-tailed Godwit
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Black-tailed Godwit
    Black-tailed Godwit
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Little Curlew
    Little Curlew
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Whimbrel
    Whimbrel
    The 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 - regular visitor
  • Common Greenshank, Tringa nebularia - regular visitor
  • Common Redshank
    Common Redshank
    The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
    
    , Tringa totanus - regular visitor
  • Red-necked Phalarope
    Red-necked Phalarope
    The Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans....
    
    , Phalaropus lobatus - vagrant
• Recurvirostridae
  Recurvirostridae
  Recurvirostridae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets and the stilts .-Description and diet:...
  
  
  • Black-winged Stilt
    Black-winged Stilt
    The Black-winged Stilt or Common Stilt is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family . Opinions differ as to whether the birds treated under the scientific name H. himantopus ought to be treated as a single species and if not, how many species to recognize...
    
    , Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus - vagrant
• Charadriidae
  Charadriidae
  The 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 Plover
    Greater Sand Plover
    The 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 - regular visitor
  • Oriental Plover
    Oriental Plover
    The 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 - vagrant
  • Pacific Golden Plover
    Pacific Golden Plover
    The 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 - regular visitor
  • Grey Plover
    Grey Plover
    The 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
• Glareolidae
  Glareolidae
  Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadri. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The coursers include the atypical Egyptian Plover, Pluvianus aegyptius, which has sometimes been placed in its own family...
  
  
  • Oriental Pratincole
    Oriental Pratincole
    The Oriental Pratincole , also known as the Grasshopper-Bird or Swallow-Plover is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae....
    
    , Glareola maldivarum - vagrant
• Laridae
  • Common Noddy, Anous stolidus - breeding
  • Lesser Noddy
    Lesser Noddy
    The 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 - vagrant
  • White-winged Black Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus - vagrant
  • White Tern
    White Tern
    The White Tern is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the Fairy Tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is the common name of the Fairy Tern Sternula nereis...
    
    , Gygis alba - breeding
  • Bridled Tern
    Bridled Tern
    The Bridled Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans.-Description:...
    
    , Sterna anaethetus - vagrant
  • Sooty Tern
    Sooty Tern
    The 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
  • Common Tern
    Common Tern
    The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...
    
    , Sterna hirundo - vagrant
  • Crested Tern, Thalasseus bergii - vagrant
  • Saunders's Tern
    Saunders's Tern
    The Saunders's Tern is a species of tern in the Sternidae family.It is found in Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Kenya, Madagascar, Pakistan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.-References:...
    
     Sternula saundersi - vagrant
• Columbidae
  • Christmas Island Imperial-Pigeon
    Christmas Island Imperial-pigeon
    The Christmas Imperial Pigeon, , is a large pigeon, mainly dark grey in colour with an iridescent sheen.-Distribution and habitat:...
    
    , Ducula whartoni - introduced, extinct.
• Cuculidae
  • Large Hawk-Cuckoo
    Large Hawk-cuckoo
    The Large Hawk-Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.They call in summer and the goes on well after dusk....
    
    , Hierococcyx sparverioides - vagrant
  • Oriental Cuckoo
    Oriental Cuckoo
    The 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
  • Indian Cuckoo
    Indian Cuckoo
    The Indian Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, that is found in Asia from Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and north to China and Russia. It is a solitary and shy bird, found in forests and open woodland at up to 3,600 m.-Description:This is a medium...
    
    , Cuculus micropterus - vagrant
  • Asian Koel
    Asian Koel
    The Asian Koel is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in South Asia, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related Black-billed and Pacific Koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies...
    
    , Eudynamys scolopaceus - vagrant
• Strigidae
  • Buffy Fish-Owl
    Buffy Fish-owl
    The Buffy Fish Owl , also known as the Malay Fish Owl, is a species of owl in the Strigidae family. It was previously placed in Ketupa with the other fish owls, but that group is tentatively included with the eagle-owls in Bubo, until the affiliations of the fish owls and fishing owls can be...
    
    , Ketupa ketupu - vagrant
• Caprimulgidae
  • Nightjar
    Nightjar
    Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
    
     sp., Caprimulgus
    Caprimulgus
    Caprimulgus is a large and very widespread genus of nightjars, medium-sized nocturnal birds with long pointed wings, short legs and short bills...
    
     sp - vagrant
• Apodidae
  • Fork-tailed Swift
    Fork-tailed Swift
    Fork-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
  • Edible-nest Swiftlet
    Edible-nest Swiftlet
    The Edible-nest Swiftlet is a small bird of the swift family which is found in South-east Asia. Its nest is made of solidified saliva and is used to make bird's nest soup.-Description:...
    
    , Collocalia fuciphaga - vagrant
  • White-throated Needletail
    White-throated Needletail
    The White-throated Needletail , also known as Needle-tailed Swift or Spine-tailed Swift, is a large swift. It is the fastest-flying bird in flapping flight, being capable of speeds up to 170 km/h ....
    
    , Hirundapus caudacutus - vagrant
• Halcyonidae
  • Collared Kingfisher
    Collared Kingfisher
    The 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
• Meropidae
  • Rainbow Bee-eater
    Rainbow Bee-eater
    The Rainbow Bee-eater, Merops ornatus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia.-Description:...
    
    , Merops ornatus - vagrant
• Coraciidae
  • Dollarbird
    Dollarbird
    The Oriental Dollarbird , also known as the Dollar Roller, is a bird of the roller family, so named because of the distinctive blue coin-shaped spots on its wings....
    
    , Eurystomus orientalis - vagrant
• Motacillidae
  Motacillidae
  The 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...
  
  
  • Grey Wagtail
    Grey Wagtail
    The 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 - vagrant
• Passeridae
  • Java Sparrow
    Java Sparrow
    The Java Sparrow, Padda oryzivora also known as Java Finch, Java Rice Sparrow or Java Rice Bird is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in Java, Bali and Bawean in Indonesia. It is a popular cagebird, and has been introduced in a large number of other...
    
    , Padda oryzivora - introduced, extinct.
• Ploceidae
  • Asian Golden Weaver
    Asian Golden Weaver
    The Asian Golden Weaver is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family.It is found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam....
    
    , Ploceus hypoxanthus - introduced, extinct.
• Hirundinidae
  • Barn Swallow
    Barn Swallow
    The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...
    
    , Hirundo rustica - regular visitor
  • Asian House Martin
    Asian House Martin
    The Asian House Martin is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has mainly blue-black upperparts, other than its white rump, and has pale grey underparts. Its three subspecies breed in the Himalayas and in central and eastern Asia, and spend the winter lower in the...
    
    , Delichon dasypus - vagrant
• Zosteropidae
  White-eye
  White-eye can refer to:*White-eye , a large family of birds.*White-eye , a species of fish.*White-eye mutation, a mutation in Drosophila melanogaster linked to the X chromosome, found by reciprocal cross breeding experiments in 1906.*A lioness member of the Marsh Pride of lions that have featured...
  
  
  • Christmas Island White-eye
    Christmas Island White-eye
    The Christmas White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family. It is endemic to Christmas Island. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International...
    
    , Zosterops natalis - introduced, breeding
• Muscicapidae
  • Christmas Island Thrush
    Christmas Island Thrush
    The Christmas Island Thrush , ia a subspecies of the Island Thrush . It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.-Description:...
    
    , Turdus poliocephalus erythropleurus - introduced, extinct
  • Asian Brown Flycatcher
    Asian Brown Flycatcher
    The Asian Brown Flycatcher, Muscicapa dauurica, is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It includes the Brown-streaked Flycatcher, which is sometimes considered a distinct species Muscicapa williamsoni....
    
    , Muscicapa dauurica - vagrant
  • Blue-and-White Flycatcher
    Blue-and-White Flycatcher
    The Blue-and-white Flycatcher, Cyanoptila cyanomelana is a migratory songbird. It breeds in Japan, Korea, and in parts of China and Russia. It winters in South East Asia, especially in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sumatra and Borneo.-References:...
    
    , Cyanoptila cyanomelana - vagrant
• Sturnidae
  • Rosy Starling
    Rosy Starling
    The Rosy Starling or Rose-coloured Starling is a passerine bird in the starling family Sturnidae. It is sometimes given its own, monotypic genus Pastor...
    
    , Sturnus roseus - vagrant

Mammals

There are no native land mammals. Two species of rodent, the House Mouse

House mouse

The house mouse is a small rodent, a mouse, one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus.As a wild animal the house mouse mainly lives associated with humans, causing damage to crops and stored food....

 and Black Rat

Black Rat

The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...

, have been introduced to the southern atoll but are absent from North Keeling. Rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...

s were introduced but have become extinct. Two species of Asian deer, Indian muntjac

Indian Muntjac

The Common Muntjac , also called the Red Muntjac, Indian Muntjac or Barking deer is the most numerous muntjac deer species. It has soft, short, brownish or greyish hair, sometimes with creamy markings. This species is omnivorous, feeding on fruits, shoots, seeds, birds' eggs as well as small...

 Muntiacus muntjak, and Sambar

Sambar Deer

The Sambar ' is a large deer native to southern and southeast Asia. Although it primarily refers to R. unicolor, the name "Sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine Deer and the Rusa Deer...

 Cervus unicolor, were introduced but did not persist. Marine mammals recorded stranding on, or seen passing by, the islands include:

• Sirenia
  Sirenia
  Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. Four species are living, in two families and genera. These are the dugong and manatees...
  
  
  • Dugong
    Dugong
    The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
    
    , Dugong dugon – seen in the lagoon of the southern atoll
• Cetacea
  Cetacea
  The order Cetacea includes the marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Cetus is Latin and is used in biological names to mean "whale"; its original meaning, "large sea animal", was more general. It comes from Ancient Greek , meaning "whale" or "any huge fish or sea...
  
  
  • Bottlenose Dolphin
    Bottlenose Dolphin
    Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
    
    , Tursiops truncatus – regularly seen
  • Common Dolphin
    Common dolphin
    The common dolphin is the name given to two species of dolphin making up the genus Delphinus.Prior to the mid-1990s, most taxonomists only recognised one species in this genus, the common dolphin Delphinus delphis...
    
    , Delphinus delphis – regularly seen
  • Pilot Whale
    Pilot whale
    Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. There are two extant species, the long-finned pilot whale and the short-finned pilot whale . The two are not readily distinguished at sea and analysis of the skulls is the best way to tell the difference between them...
    
    , Globicephala sp.
  • Humpback Whale
    Humpback Whale
    The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
    
    , Megaptera novaeangliae
  • Cuvier's Beaked Whale
    Cuvier's Beaked Whale
    Cuvier's beaked whale is the most widely distributed of all the beaked whales. It is the only member of the genus Ziphius. Another common name for the species is goose-beaked whale because its head is said to be shaped like the beak of a goose. Georges Cuvier first described it in 1823 from part...
    
    , Ziphius cavirostris
  • Sperm Whale
    Sperm Whale
    The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...
    
    , Physeter macrocephalus

Reptiles

Terrestrial reptiles include three geckos and a blind-snake, all of which may have been inadvertently transported to the islands by humans:

• Gekkonidae
  • Mourning Gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris
    Lepidodactylus lugubris
    The Mourning Gecko or Common Smooth-Scaled Gecko is a species of gecko. This small , nocturnal gecko feeds on small insects and flower nectar. This species is notable because it is parthenogenic, and there are no remaining males that have been found...
    
    
  • Four-clawed gecko, Gehyra mutilata
    Gehyra mutilata
    The four-clawed gecko is a wide-ranging lizard that is probably native to Southeast Asia. It has made its way to several areas of the world including Sri Lanka, Indochina, and many of the U.S. Pacific Islands...
    
    
  • House Gecko
    House Gecko
    The Common House Gecko, scientific name Hemidactylus frenatus, is a native of southeastern Asia. It is also known as the Pacific house gecko, the Asian house gecko, or simply, the house lizard. They can be seen climbing walls of houses and other buildings in search of insects attracted to porch...
    
    , Hemidactylus frenatus
• Typhlopidae
  Typhlopidae
  The Typhlopidae are a family of blind snakes. They are found mostly in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and all mainland Australia and various islands. The rostral scale overhangs the mouth to form a shovel like burrowing structure. They live underground in burrows, and since...
  
  
  • Blind Snake, Typhlops braminus

Marine reptiles include:

• Hydrophiidae
  • Yellow-bellied Sea-Snake, Pelamis platurus
  • Banded Sea Krait
    Laticauda colubrina
    The colubrine sea krait, banded sea krait or yellow-lipped sea krait is a species of sea snake found in tropical Indo-Pacific oceanic waters....
    
    , Laticauda colubrina
    Laticauda colubrina
    The colubrine sea krait, banded sea krait or yellow-lipped sea krait is a species of sea snake found in tropical Indo-Pacific oceanic waters....
    
    
• Chelonioidea
  • Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas - breeding
  • Hawksbill Turtle
    Hawksbill turtle
    The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. E. imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while E...
    
    , Eretmochelys imbricata
  • Olive Ridley Turtle
    Olive Ridley
    The olive ridley sea turtle , also known as the Pacific ridley, is a species of sea turtle.- Description :The olive ridley is a small extant sea turtle, with an adult carapace length averaging 60 to 70 cm 1...
    
    , Lepidochelys olivacea
  • Loggerhead Turtle, Caretta caretta
  • Leatherback Turtle, Dermochelys coriacea

Sources

• Anon. (2004). Pulu Keeling National Park Management Plan. Australian Government. ISBN 0-642-54964-8
• Birding-Aus Mailing List Archives
• Carter, Mike. (1994). Birds of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Wingspan
  Wingspan (magazine)
  Wingspan is the quarterly membership magazine of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union . It was first issued in 1991, replacing the RAOU Newsletter. The current Editor is Sean Dooley....
  
   15: 14-18.
• Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1950). A note on the reptiles occurring on the Cocos-Keeling Islands. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 22: 206-211.
• Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1950). Notes on the birds of the Cocos-Keeling Islands. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 22: 212-270.
• Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1950). The Muridae of the Cocos-Keeling Islands. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 22: 271-277.
• Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1950). A note on the Cetacea stranded on the Cocos-Keeling Islands. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 22: 278-279.
• Hadden, Don. (2006). Cocos (Keeling) Island birds. Wingspan
  Wingspan (magazine)
  Wingspan is the quarterly membership magazine of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union . It was first issued in 1991, replacing the RAOU Newsletter. The current Editor is Sean Dooley....
  
   16(4): 34-37.
• Stokes, Tony, Wendy Shiels and Kevin Dunn (1984). Birds of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. 'The Emu' 84 (1): 23-29.
• Stokes, Tony and Peter Goh (1987). Records of Herald Petrels and the Christmas Frigatebird from North Keeling Island, Indian Ocean. 'Australian Bird Watcher' 12 (4) 132-133.
• Woodroffe, Colin D. (Editor) (1994). Ecology and Geomorphology of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. 'Atoll Research Bulletins' 399-414. Compilation of 14 individual papers by different authors published in a single volume. The papers include an introduction to scientific studies on the Islands, and detailed reports o the climate, hydrology and water resources; Late Quaternary Morphology; Geomorphology; Reef Islands; Vegetation; Update on Birds; Marine habitats; Sediment Facies; Hydrodynamic observations; Hermatypic corals; Marine molluscs; Echindoderms; Fishes; Barnacles; and Decapod crustaceans.