The Elephant Cays are a group of small islands lying towards the southern end of

Falkland Sound The Falkland Sound ( es, Estrecho de San Carlos) is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running southwest-northeast, it separates West and East Falkland. Name The sound was named by John Strong in 1690 for Viscount Falkland, the name only l ...

, just to the north-west of

Speedwell Island Speedwell Island (formerly Eagle Island; Spanish ''Isla Águila'') is one of the Falkland Islands, lying in the Falkland Sound, southwest of Lafonia, East Falkland. The island has an area of , measuring approximately from north to south and ...

, in 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 Dubouze ...

of the South

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The group, with a collective area of 248 ha includes Golden Knob, Sandy Cay, West, Southwest and Stinker Islands. It has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA).

Description

The islands have good tussac cover, but are not well known. Some may have been occasionally stocked with cattle in the 1930s and 1940s, and Stinker Island was grazed until 1985.

Birds

Counts were made in early 2005. There is no complete list of birds, but it is probable that at least 20 species breed, possibly including burrowing petrels and Storm-petrels. Birds for which the site is of conservation significance include

Magellanic penguin The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen a ...

s and

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 ...

s. The group is also the most important breeding site in the world for southern giant petrels, of which there are about 11,000 pairs. There are also two small colonies of

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 ...

References

Islands of the Falkland Islands Important Bird Areas of the Falkland Islands Seabird colonies {{Falklands-geo-stub