The Shanks Islands form a group of five small rocky
islets located close to the
south-western coast of
Tasmania, Australia. Situated near where the
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
of
Port Davey meets the
Southern Ocean, the islets have a combined area of and are part of the
Swainson Islands Group. They comprise part of the
Southwest National Park and the
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.
Fauna
The islets are part of the
Port Davey Islands Important Bird Area, so identified 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 of its importance for breeding seabirds.
Recorded breeding
seabird and
wader species are the
little penguin
The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name .
The Australian lit ...
,
short-tailed shearwater
The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...
(8,700 pairs),
fairy prion (5,000 pairs),
silver gull,
sooty oystercatcher and
Caspian tern.
[
]
See also
* List of islands of Tasmania
References
Islands of Tasmania
South West Tasmania
Protected areas of Tasmania
Important Bird Areas of Tasmania
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