A Christmas Island frigatebird named Lydia has recently flown for 26 consecutive days covering a distance of over 4,000 km—crossing Indonesia’s volcanoes and some of the busiest shipping lanes in Asia—to find food for her chick.
The flight, monitored by scientists at Christmas Island National Park using a global positioning device, marks the farthest known non-stop flight of this endangered seabird species.
Previously, it was believed that these scavenger birds, with their distinctive black-and-white plumage and characteristic pink bill, would only fly a few hundred kilometers away from their nests and that such excursions would only last a few days.
“This is truly a remarkable discovery,” remarked David James, the biodiversity monitoring coordinator at Christmas Island National Park.
Lydia’s journey began on October 18 from Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, located about 480 km south of Jakarta (Indonesia) and approximately 2,500 km northwest of Perth, Western Australia.
Leaving one chick for her partner to care for, Lydia headed south towards open waters, likely to steal fish from other seabirds—a common behavior among scavenger species. She then returned on October 26 and flew between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. From there, she crossed Borneo on November 9 before flying back to Java and returning to her nest on November 18, where she fed her chick.
While this flight is a record length for a frigatebird, it still pales in comparison to the 46-day journey of a wandering albatross.
Lydia is one of four frigatebirds on Christmas Island that have been tagged for satellite tracking. They provide scientists with essential data on the flight paths and foraging behaviors of frigatebirds. Previously, most data of this kind was gathered by birdwatchers. Officials hope this new data will aid in improving conservation efforts.
Currently, there are only about 1,200 pairs of frigatebirds left on this small island in the Indian Ocean, making them one of the most endangered seabird species in the world.
T. An
