Current view: Text account
Site description (1994 baseline):
Site location and context
An island 65 km due east of the mainland of Qatar, just less than 1-km long and c.500 m wide. A hill with crags, slopes and undulating sand with a good cover of salt-tolerant bushes.
See box for key species. Details of only two visits are known; breeding species in October 1973 included
Phalacrocorax nigrogularis (old nests and mummified chicks found),
Pandion haliaetus,
Sterna bengalensis (traces of nesting) and
Sterna repressa (traces of nesting).
Phaethon aethereus may nest.
Non-bird biodiversity: Reptiles: Eretmochelys imbricata (E) nests, but numbers are reported to be very low.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The current status of the seabird breeding colonies is unknown.
Information compiled by M. I. Evans.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Shara'awh island (Qatar). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sharaawh-island-iba-qatar on 23/11/2024.
