The French Southern and Antarctic Lands is an overseas Territory of France. It consists of:
- Adélie Land, the French claim on the continent of Antarctica.
- Crozet Islands, a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south of Madagascar.
- Kerguelen Islands, a group of volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, southeast of Africa.
- Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands, a group to the north of the Kerguelen Islands.
- Scattered Islands, a dispersed group of islands around the coast of Madagascar.
The pintail or northern pintail is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator. Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific duck Eaton's pintail is considered to be a separate species.
The white-cheeked pintail, also known as the Bahama pintail or summer duck, is a species of dabbling duck. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae under its current scientific name.
The Crozet Islands are a sub-Antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
The yellow-billed teal is a South American species of duck. Like other teals, it belongs to the diverse genus Anas; more precisely it is one of the "true" teals of subgenus Nettion. It occurs in Argentina, the Falkland Islands, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Brazil. It has also established itself in South Georgia, where it was first recorded breeding in 1971, and has been recorded as far east as Tristan da Cunha. It inhabits freshwater wetlands, preferring palustrine habitat to rivers. Considering its wide range and local abundance, it is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
The yellow-billed pintail is a South American dabbling duck of the genus Anas with three described subspecies.
The northern giant petrel, also known as Hall's giant petrel, is a large, predatory seabird of the southern oceans. Its range overlaps broadly with the range of the related southern giant petrel, albeit slightly further to the north.
The desert sparrow is a species of bird in the sparrow family Passeridae, found in the Sahara Desert of northern Africa. A similar bird, Zarudny's sparrow, is found in Central Asia and was historically recognised as a subspecies of the desert sparrow, but varies in a number of ways and is now recognised as a separate species by BirdLife International, the IOC World Bird List, and the Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive.
The Kerguelen petrel is a small slate-grey seabird in the family Procellariidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Aphrodroma. It is a pelagic, circumpolar seabird of the Southern Ocean. It breeds on islands in the southern Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
The Kerguelen tern is a tern of the southern hemisphere.
The imperial shag or imperial cormorant is a black and white cormorant native to southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union, place it in the genus Leucocarbo, others in the genus Phalacrocorax. It is also known as the blue-eyed shag, blue-eyed cormorant and by many other names, and is one of a larger group of cormorants called blue-eyed shags. The taxonomy is very complex, and several former subspecies are often considered separate species.
Île de l'Est, or East Island, is a part of the subantarctic archipelago of the Crozet Islands. With an area of 130 km2 (50 sq mi) it is the second largest island of the group. It is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
The bazas, Aviceda, are a genus of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. The genus has a widespread distribution from Australia to southern Asia and across to Africa. The bazas are sometimes known as cuckoo-hawks. A prominent crest is a feature of the bazas. They have two tooth-like indentations on the edge of the upper bill.
Polyboroides is a genus of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This genus has two recognized species found in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. The two species are allopatric and restricted to the Afrotropical realm. They are generally known as harrier-hawks.
The short-legged ground roller is a species of bird in the ground roller family Brachypteraciidae. It is the only living species in the genus Brachypteracias and is endemic to Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The pied shrike-babbler is a bird species traditionally considered an aberrant Old World babbler and placed in the family Timaliidae. But as it seems, it belongs to an Asian offshoot of the American vireos and may well belong in the Vireonidae. Indeed, since long it was noted that their habits resemble those of vireos, but this was believed to be the result of convergent evolution.
The Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra is a tundra ecoregion that includes several subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean.
Île de la Possession, or Possession Island, formerly Île de la Prise de Possession, is part of the Subantarctic Crozet Archipelago. Administratively, it is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. It is an important nesting site for seabirds.
