Bird Island ( es, Isla Pájaro) is one of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. It lies due south of

West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastli ...

, near Port StephensStrange, Ian (1983) ''The Falkland Islands'' and

Calm Head Calm Head ( es, Punta Serena) is the most south westerly point of the Falkland Islands, and is on West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, sep ...

. It has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

. According to Ian Strange "Such offshore islands s Bird Islandare the remaining strongholds of a large percentage of bird life".

Geography

Bird Island is located 4.5 km off the south-western coast of West Falkland and is roughly triangular in shape. The western half of the southern coast has sheer cliffs reaching at least 70 m and the plateau above slopes gently to the north and west. In the centre of the island there is a large seasonal pool to the west of a small inlet. The eastern promontory has two domed peaks reaching to at least 110 m with sheer southern cliffs of 30 m and very steep slopes in the north. Access by boat is difficult, except at the small north-east-facing inlet between the northern and eastern promontories, and the terrain is difficult to cross, with dense growth of Tussac above thick, soft peat and Tussac overhanging deep gulches.

Wildlife

Amongst the birds which breed here are

rockhopper penguin The rockhopper penguins are three closely related taxa of crested penguins that have been traditionally treated as a single species and are sometimes split into three species. Not all experts agree on the classification of these penguins. Some c ...

king shag The New Zealand king shag (''Leucocarbo carunculatus''), also known as the rough-faced shag, king shag or kawau, is a rare bird endemic to New Zealand. Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place this spe ...

petrel Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. Description The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group (all except the albatross f ...

s and

black-browed albatross The black-browed albatross (''Thalassarche melanophris''), also known as the black-browed mollymawk,Robertson, C. J. R. (2003) is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae; it is the most widespread and common member of its family. ...

es. The total number of species recorded on Bird Island in November 1998 was 27, of which 25 bred or were probably breeding.

Macaroni penguin The macaroni penguin (''Eudyptes chrysolophus'') is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the royal penguin, and some authorities conside ...

ruddy-headed goose The ruddy-headed goose (''Chloephaga rubidiceps'') is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae. It is found in Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the ...

canary-winged finch The white-bridled finch (''Melanodera melanodera''), also known as the canary-winged finch or black-throated finch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus ''Melanodera'' together with the yellow-bridled finch (''M. xanthogramma''). Form ...

black-throated finch The black-throated finch (''Poephila cincta''), or parson finch, is a species of estrildid finch found in grassy woodlands throughout north-east Australia from Cape York Peninsula to central Queensland. The southern black-throated finch (''Poe ...

and

Falkland steamer duck The Falkland steamer duck (''Tachyeres brachypterus'') is a species of flightless duck found on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The steamer ducks get their name from their unconventional swimming behaviour in which they flap th ...

are present but their status is uncertain or populations are too small to qualify. The congregation of seabirds on this island exceeds 10,000 breeding pairs, making the site classifiable under the A4iii criterion. Bird Island is one of the most important breeding sites for the

striated caracara The striated caracara (''Phalcoboenus australis'') is a bird of prey of the family Falconidae. In the Falkland Islands, it is known as the Johnny rook, probably named after the Johnny penguin (gentoo penguin). Description The adults' plumage is ...

and it is considered that the population here is at least as dense as on any offshore island around the Falklands, possibly due to the very large population of thin-billed prions, an important prey species. Deep Tussac cover over most of Bird Island makes it comparable to

Beauchene Island Beauchene Island is the southernmost of the Falkland Islands, lying about south of Porpoise Point in Lafonia. It was discovered in 1701 by Jacques Gouin de Beauchêne, after whom it was named. Geography Beauchene is the most isolated island ...

for the density of burrowing petrels. Other species that should be investigated include

sooty shearwater The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name , and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (''A. pacificus' ...

grey-backed storm petrel The grey-backed storm petrel (''Garrodia nereis'') is a species of seabird in the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Garrodia''. It is found in Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Falkland Islands, ...

, which is thought to be numerous,

rock shag The rock shag (''Leucocarbo magellanicus''), also known as the Magellanic cormorant, is a marine cormorant found around the southernmost coasts of South America. Its breeding range is from around Valdivia, Chile, south to Cape Horn and Tierra de ...

imperial shag The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (''Leucocarbo atriceps'') is a black and white cormorant native to southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including ...

and

dolphin gull The dolphin gull (''Leucophaeus scoresbii''), sometimes erroneously called the red-billed gull (a somewhat similar but unrelated species from New Zealand), is a gull native to southern Chile and Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. It is a coasta ...

. Endemic races present include the dark-faced ground-tyrant,

Falkland thrush The austral thrush (''Turdus falcklandii'') is a medium-sized thrush from southern South America. There are two subspecies, the Magellan thrush (''T. f. magellanicus'') from south Argentina and south and central Chile, and the Falkland thrush ( ...

long-tailed meadowlark The long-tailed meadowlark (''Leistes loyca'') is a passerine bird of southern South America and the Falkland Islands, belonging to the meadowlark genus ''Leistes'' in the icterid family that looks very similar to the related endangered species, ...

and

common diving petrel The common diving petrel (''Pelecanoides urinatrix''), also known as the smaller diving petrel or simply the diving petrel, is a diving petrel, one of four very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlant ...

References

{{Falkland Islands topics, state=collapsed Islands of the Falkland Islands Important Bird Areas of the Falkland Islands