Swain Reefs is a national park in North Queensland, Australia, north of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. It was established in 1995, and covers an area of 0.58 km². It is managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Fauna

Birds

Nine small

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

s, with a combined area of , comprise the Swain Reefs Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because together they support over 1% of the world population of breeding roseate terns, and even larger numbers of non-breeding roseate terns, with up to 25,000 individuals recorded there. Other birds recorded on the cays include masked and

brown boobies The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...

silver gull The silver gull (''Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae'') is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull (''Larus pacificus''), which ...

s, black-naped,

sooty Sooty is a British children's television media franchise created by Harry Corbett incorporating primarily television and stage shows. The franchise originated with his fictional glove puppet character introduced to television in 1955, with the ...

, bridled, greater crested, lesser crested and

little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was formerly placed into the genus ''Sterna'', which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of '' Sterna'', "tern". The specific ' ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

and common noddies, and

lesser frigatebird The lesser frigatebird (''Fregata ariel'') is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. At around 75 cm (30 in) in length, it is the smallest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters across the Indian ...

s. Cays supporting seabirds include Gannet Cay (), Bylund Cay (), Thomas Cay (), Bacchi Cay (), Frigate Cay (), Price Cay (), Distant Cay (), Riptide Cay () and Bell Cay ().

Fish

The rockcod ('' Epinephelus fuscomarginatus''), which is popular in

Australian cuisine Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

, occurs here at depths of about .

References

External links

Swains Reef
National parks of Queensland Protected areas established in 1995 1995 establishments in Australia Important Bird Areas of Queensland Islands on the Great Barrier Reef {{Queensland-national-park-stub

Fauna

Birds

Fish

See also

References

External links