Great frigatebirds soar over Midway's Islands

Fifteen species of seabirds nest each year on islands within the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The total population of nesting seabirds is nearly 2 million. For a more in-depth look at Midway's bird fauna, please click on one of the items listed below:

• Natural History of Midway's Birds:
  • Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
  • Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
  • Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)
  • Christmas Shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis)
  • Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus chlororhynchus)
  • Bonin Petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca)
  • Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda rothschildi)
  • White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus dorotheae)
  • Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)
  • Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra)
  • Red-footed Booby (Sula sula rubripes)
  • Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor palmerstoni)
  • Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus pileatus)
  • Black Noddy (Anous minutus melanogenys)
  • Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata oahuensis)
  • Gray-backed Tern (Sterna lunata)
  • White Tern (Gygis alba rothschildi)
• Checklist of Midway's Birds
• Quick Reference to Seabirds and Shorebirds
• Estimated Bird Populations (Dec 1998)
• Seabird Weight and Wingspan Comparison

Midway features the world's largest colony of Laysan Albatross (nearly 300,000 nesting pairs) and the largest colonies of Red-tailed Tropicbirds, Black Noddies and White Terns within the Hawaiian archipelago. One very rare species at Midway is the Short-tailed albatross, or "Golden Gooney" which last nested successfully on Sand Island in 1962. The various seabird species that do nest at Midway divide the limited habitat by selecting different sites to lay their eggs, such as burrows under the ground, surface sites in the open or under the vegetation and perches within shrubs or taller trees. Midway's native (or indigenous) bird fauna also includes a small variety of arctic nesting shorebirds, such as Bristle-thighed Curlews and Ruddy Turnstones, and a long list of vagrant species that have been observed in small numbers over the years.

Midway Atoll NWR bird list and estimated seabird populations as of 2006 (pdf).