Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A rocky area on the coast of south-east Puglia, south of the town of Otranto. Habitats are dominated by pseudo-steppes, garrigue, pastures and cultivated land. Cultivation and stock-rearing are the main land-uses.
An important `bottleneck' site for raptors migrating along the Adriatic coast in spring. It is considered that more than 3,000 raptors pass each spring, although there is only incomplete data from one year (1989), when a total of about 1,500 birds were counted, mainly harriers
Circus and
Pernis apivorus.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main threats are fires, illegal hunting, overgrazing and the building of tourist resorts.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cape Otranto and Cape Santa Maria di Leuca coast (Italy). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cape-otranto-and-cape-santa-maria-di-leuca-coast-iba-italy on 26/12/2024.
