Île aux Cocos (; 'Cocos Island') is a small uninhabited island lying four kilometres west of

Rodrigues Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. It is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

known for its seabird colonies. The island is not accessible to the public except via guided visits to the island. The southern tip delineated by wooden posts is closed to visitors to protect the bird population.

Birds

There are three birds commonly found on the island: the

White tern The white tern or common white tern (''Gygis alba'') is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the fairy tern, although this name is potentially confusing as it is also the common name of ''Sternul ...

, the Brown noddy, and the Lesser noddy. The Sooty tern is migratory. You can observe it in the southern part of the island. Geography of Rodrigues Nature reserves of Rodrigues {{Mauritius-geo-stub