Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site comprises the smaller of the two islands of the Glorieuses Archipelago, which lie in the north of the Mozambique Channel, almost equidistant from Mayotte, Aldabra and Madagascar, but 180 km west of the northernmost tip of the latter. The larger island, Grande Glorieuse, is highly degraded and of little ornithological interest. Ile du Lys is a low (up to 15 m) coral islet 10 km north-east of Grande Glorieuse. The two are connected by sandbanks that are exposed at low tide. The vegetation is patchy evergreen bushland and thicket covering around 30% of the islet.
See Box for key species. Ile du Lys supports a very large colony of
Sterna fuscata, in addition to a small population (around 100 pairs in 1994) of nesting
Anous stolidus. No landbirds occur. In 1996, Grande Glorieuse held seven landbird species, with no endemic species or subspecies. In the past, eight additional seabird species bred there.
Non-bird biodiversity: The islet is a nesting site for the sea-turtle Chelonia mydas (EN).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The islet was made a Nature Reserve in 1975. Classification as a Strict Nature Reserve (by Arrêté Ministériel) is needed to improve the site’s protection (see ‘Conservation infrastructure and protected-area system’). Rats (probably
Rattus norvegicus) are abundant and may limit seabird populations. Illegal landing by sailors and tourists is less frequent than in the past, but still causes occasional disturbance to the seabird colony.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Glorieuses Islands (French Southern Territories). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/glorieuses-islands-iba-french-southern-territories on 27/12/2024.
