Bird Life of St. Helena

Bird Life of St. Helena

The UK overseas territory of St. Helena is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world.

The 47 sq mile island is situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, with the nearest land being Ascension Island, which is 703 miles to the North West. It is 1,200 miles from the South West coast of Africa and 1,800 miles from the coast of South America.

Prior to the colonial period, St. Helena supported a very diverse collection of endemic bird species. However, since its discovery in 1502 the island has suffered large scale invasion by alien species. This, overtime, has led to the extinction of all but one of St. Helena's endemic birds, the St. Helena Plover, or Wirebird as it is known locally.

The Wirebird is a type of plover which lives in burrows around the island, which was named because of its thin legs which look like wire.

Specifications