Falaises d'Entrecasteaux
{{Short description|Cliffs on Amsterdam Island, Indian Ocean}}
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File:Thalassarche carteri - SE Tasmania.jpg
The Cliffs of Entrecasteaux ({{langx |fr |Falaises d'Entrecasteaux}}, {{IPA|fr|falɛz dɑ̃tʁəkasto}}), named after 18th century French navigator Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, comprise the cliffs, which reach heights of over {{convert|700|m}}, along the west coast of Amsterdam Island, a small French territory in the southern Indian Ocean.
Important Bird Area
The western coastline of the island, including the cliffs, has been identified as a {{convert|360|ha|adj=on}} Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it is home to one of the largest colonies of Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses in the world, with about 19,000 pairs constituting some 20% of the world population, and about 240 pairs of sooty albatrosses. There is also a large colony of northern rockhopper penguins, with 25,000 pairs. Two species, grey and soft-plumaged petrels, which have become rare on the island due to predation by rats and cats, are thought to breed in the IBA. There is a large rookery of subantarctic fur seals in the IBA. Ten endemic arthropods have been recorded.{{sfnp |BirdLife |2012}}
The vegetation, which includes three endemic plant species, is dominated by tussock-grasses and rushes which are densest towards the foot of the cliffs. Because of the inaccessibility of the cliffs, the vegetation of the cliff-ledges was never grazed by the feral cattle that used to inhabit the island.{{sfnp |BirdLife |2012}}
References
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Sources
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- {{cite web |ref={{sfnref |BirdLife |2007 }} |title=BirdLife International - conserving the world's birds |url=http://www.birdlife.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710124603/http://www.birdlife.org/ |archive-date=2007-07-10 |access-date=2012-11-14 }}
- {{cite web |ref={{sfnref |BirdLife |2012 }} |title=Important Bird Areas factsheet: Falaises d'Entrecasteaux |year=2012 |website=BirdLife International }}
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{{Important Bird Areas of French Southern Territories}}
{{Coord|37|51|S|77|31|E|display=title}}
Category:Important Bird Areas of Île Amsterdam
Category:Landforms of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
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