Christmas Frigatebird

Christmas Frigatebird (白腹軍艦鳥)
Christmas Island (2010)
17th August, 2010. Christmas Island, West Australia
4th January, 2011. Christmas Island, West Australia

Christmas Frigatebird, as known as Christmas Island Frigatebird, is one frigatebird only breeding in Christmas Island, however it also widely visible in South China Sea, most of coast of south-east Asian countries, eastern Indian Ocean and west of South Pacific. As it mainly breeds in Christmas Islands, it can say the frigatebird is endemic to this small island in north-west of Australia. During 1988, the frigatebird listed as threatened in IUCN list while became vulnerable species in 1994. Since 2000, the frigatebird listed as critically endangered species due to the inhabit area colonised by huge of Crazy Ants (細足捷蟻), and also damaged by wildfires or cyclones.

As well as other frigatebirds, their diet mostly rob other birds caught, but they also catch fish near water surface or shallows. Male bird is in black colour except small part in white on the belly, and brownish areas on the wings. As they are frigatebird, male also has a large red and inflateable throat sac during courtship.

Same as before, mail from Christmas Island will be postmarked by attractive pictorial postmark illustrates Christmas Red Crab (聖誕島紅蟹).

Crabs of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

From left to right :
5c : Little Nipper (葛氏陸方蟹) ; 5c : Purple Crab (兇狠圓軸蟹)
45c : Smooth-banded Ghost Crab (平掌沙蟹)
45c : Horn-eyed Ghost Crab (角眼沙蟹)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2000)
21st December, 2009. Cocos Keeling Island

These four crabs are widely to be found in west Pacific area, however they are not normally appear on Cocos (Keeling) Islands, where are the islands located in the east of Indian Ocean. Little Nipper widely to be found in Indian Ocean and west tropical Pacific Ocean, it looks puprle and black. Purple Crab is a large crab, mostly lives in the islands of Samoa, French Polynesia to East Africa, also to be found in Taiwan and Hoinam. It is in purple-reddish colour or purple-greyish colour. Smooth-banded Ghost Crab and Horn-eyed Ghost Crab widely live in the coastlines of east Asia, from southern-Japan to islands of south Pacific, they also live in Red Sea and South Africa.

Leopard Seal and Adelie Penguin

Leopard Seal (豹海豹)

Australian Antarctic Territory (2001)

15th February, 2009. Casey Station

Leopard Seal is second large seal in Antarctic, just after Southern Elephant Seal (南象海豹). Back colour is dark grey but light greyed abdomen, however it named leopard as its neck with black spots. Killer Whale (虎鯨) is its only natural enemy, smallest marine life like krill to large animal penguin also can become its food.

This set of WWF stamp shown the Leopard Seals playing with Adelie Penguins (阿德利企鵝), actually those penguins look facing danger as sometimes Leopard Seal kills them. When seal wants to catch them, it will lay under the water and wait penguins jump into water.

The cover was sent from Casey Station of AAT, that means I collected two station's postmarks. The postmark features a couple of Australian Sea Lion (澳洲海獅), they look very cute. Also have one signet on the left-bottom of envelope illustrated Adelie Penguins lay on a wooden case, do you think these three penguins look like escape the dangerous ?

Christmas Island Imperial-Pigeon and Hawk-Owl

(L) Christmas Island Imperial-Pigeon (聖誕島帝鴿) and

(R) Christmas Island Hawk-Owl (聖誕島鷹鴞)

Christmas Island (2002)

8th August, 2008. Christmas Island

A beautiful gutter block appears on the envelope cancelled by special cancellation of Christmas Island which illustrated Christmas Red Crab (聖誕島紅蟹). Those three species are only can be observed in Christmas Island and its neigbourhood Cocos (Keeling) Islands, these two area are overseas territories of Australia located in eastern Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia. They have their own stamps inscriptions are Christmas Island or Cocos (Keeling) Islands separately. However those stamps are valid for postage in Australia mainland.