Christmas Island

Christmas Island, part of the New Year Group, is a granite island located in the Great Australian Bight, lying off the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. New Year Group There are four islands in the New Year Group. Besides Christmas Island, these are: King Island, New Year Island and Councillor Island. While King Island has the largest area of the four islands, the group is named after New Year Island because it was discovered by Europeans a few days earlier than King Island. Fauna Breeding seabird and shorebird species include little penguin, short-tailed shearwater, Pacific gull, silver gull, sooty oystercatcher, pied oystercatcher and black-faced cormorant. Reptiles include tiger snakes and lizards. A species of mouse is present.