Country/territory: France
Subnational region(s): Languedoc-Roussillon
IBA Justification: A4i, A4iv, B1i, B1iv, B2, C2, C3, C5, C6 (2000)
Area: 218,160 hectares (2,181.60 km2)
Site description (2000 baseline)
A complex of coastal habitats, including saltmarshes and lagoons.
Key biodiversity
The site is very important for breeding and wintering wetland birds and passage raptors and passerines. The site is a major migratory bottleneck, where 20,000 or more raptors regularly pass (including Pernis apivorus 15,000; Milvus migrans 3,000). Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Larus audouinii (passage).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Etangs de Leucate et Lapalme (France). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/etangs-de-leucate-et-lapalme-iba-france on 13/01/2025.