Travel Guide Ilhéu De Curral Velho

This islet is a bird-watching area that can be reached by zodiac (30 min crossing) or pirogue, although the sea here is often rough. A limestone rock with eroded cliffs, Curral Velho lies 500 m off the coast and the beach of the same name. Here you'll spot albatrosses, alcatraz (a type of gull whose species is in danger of extinction) and frigatebirds, black birds with a 2.20 m wingspan, known here as rabils. This increasingly rare bird breeds only on the islets of Cape Verde. Colonies of red-backed sparrows, known as Cape Verde sparrows, are also regular visitors.