Cape Barbaria, or Cap de Barbaria, is a cape that marks the south-western end of the island of

Formentera Formentera (, ) is the smallest and most southerly island of the Pityusic Islands group (comprising Ibiza and Formentera, as well as various small islets), which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain). It covers an area of ...

in the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the western

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. The natural vegetation of the cape includes

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

and small patches of ''

Pinus halepensis ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exce ...

'' and ''

Juniperus phoenicea ''Juniperus phoenicea'', the Phoenicean juniper or Arâr, is a juniper found throughout the Mediterranean region. Description ''Juniperus phoenicea'' is a large shrub or small tree reaching tall, with a trunk up to in diameter and a rounded o ...

'' forest. Human uses of the cape include

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

Important Bird Area

A 100 ha area encompassing the high cliffs and remnant native vegetation of the cape has been designated 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 ...

because it supports breeding populations of

Balearic shearwater The Balearic shearwater (''Puffinus mauretanicus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family ''Procellariidae''. ''Puffinus'' is a New Latin loanword based on the English "puffin" and its variants, that referred to the cured carcass of ...

s and

Balearic warbler Balearic warbler (''Curruca balearica'') is a typical warbler, genus ''Curruca''. It is endemic to the Balearic Islands, apart from Menorca. It groups with the Marmora's warbler, Tristram's warbler and the Dartford warbler (Helbig 2001, Jønsson ...

Yellow-legged gull The yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Casp ...

s also breed at the cape. The main threats to the bird populations come from legal and illegal hunting, the harvesting of shearwater chicks for food, illegal housing, predation by

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

s, and disturbance from

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

activities.

References

Formentera Important Bird Areas of the Balearic Islands Seabird colonies {{BalearicIslands-geo-stub