Pearce, Urquhart and Hervey Islands Important Bird Area
Encyclopedia
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
’s Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands is situated in the south-west corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the northern coast of Australia.-History:They were named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders in honour of Sir Edward Pellew, a fellow naval officer...
, in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They lie to the north-east of the group’s North Island.
Description
The islands are traditionally owned AboriginalIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
land. Pearce Islet is covered with low vegetation. The circular Urquhart Islet is formed of rock and coral rubble and also vegetated. Hervey Rocks is a small, low, partly vegetated, rocky island with a small sand spit
Spit (landform)
A spit or sandspit is a deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, and extend into the sea. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift...
.
Birds
The islands have been identified by BirdLife InternationalBirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) because they support over 1% of the world populations of Greater Crested
Greater Crested Tern
The Greater Crested Tern , also called Crested Tern or Swift Tern, is a seabird in the tern family which nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World...
(with up to 50,000) and Roseate Tern
Roseate Tern
The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....
s (up to 17,500). Bridled
Bridled Tern
The Bridled Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans.-Description:...
and Black-naped Tern
Black-naped Tern
The Black-naped Tern is an oceanic tern mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is rarely found inland....
s also breed on the islands, which are used for nesting by large numbers of sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s as well.