Deadly Stop-Over for Migrating Birds

The conservation NGO BirdLife Cyprus reports that more than 380 species of birds have been found in Cyprus. About 200 of these species are just passing through. Cyprus's location makes it a stopover for avians migrating between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East---it is estimated that 250 million birds migrate through Cyprus each year. Migratory birds may also be attracted to the land because of its relatively low-intensity agriculture. However, these birds---including threatened and endangered species---may be hunted, trapped and served up in a (now illegal) local delicacy called ambelopoulia. Birdlife's monitoring system, in place since 2002, indicates that more than one million birds may be killed in a year in Cyprus. The 2012 spring field report of trapping activity from March to May found hundreds trapped in mist nets and on limesticks (homemade traps using a super sticky glue made from plums) including blackcaps, Ruppell’s warblers, lesser whitethroats, chiffchaffs, ...