• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2000 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Chukar Alectoris chukar	LC	resident (1996)	abundant	B2
Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus	NT	resident (1996)	2 pairs	B2
Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos	LC	resident (1996)	4 pairs	B2, C6
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus	LC	resident (1996)	frequent	C6
Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax	LC	resident (1996)	common	B2, C6

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
-	Samaria	Biogenetic Reserves (-)	9
1962	Samaria	Ethnikos Drymos (pirinas) (II)	9
1981	Gorge of Samaria National Park	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve (UA)	9
1985	Stylou - Katochoriou	Game Refuge (-)	-
2001	Lefka Ori Anatolikou Selinou kai Sfakion	Katafygio Agrias Zois (IV)	13
2007	Prostateftiko dasos oreinou ogkou Lefkon Oreon nomou Chanion	Prostatevomeno dasos (VI)	71

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	20	Alpine, subalpine and boreal grassland
Shrubland	20	Sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis
Forest	15	Native coniferous woodland
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	major (>10)	Scree & boulders; Inland cliffs

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	70
tourism/recreation	30
water management	5

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lefka Ori mountains, Crete (Greece). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lefka-ori-mountains-crete-iba-greece on 23/12/2024.