There is nothing surprising in the fact that the bird-life of Sardinia is so rich and varied. Mountains, coasts and lagoons, largely unspoilt even today, pack its perimeter of only 1850 km, right at the heart of the Mediterranean.
Humid areas, such as the lagoons of Molentargius, S. Gilla and Cabras, provide the perfect habitat for greater flamingos, great cormorants, herons, black-winged stilts, collared pratincoles, Squacco herons, glossy ibises and the rare capercaillie.

Between sandy beaches and steeply sprouting cliffs, grottos and bays, which design the Sardinian coastline, several of the rarest bird species make their nests - the osprey and the goshawk, for example, occasionally joined by the Eleonora's falcon, which occupies the rocky ravines of high-up coastal places. The shag is a regular sight in cliffed areas, as is the shearwater, which, however, prefers to live offshore. A little less fussy is the practically ubiquitous yellow-legged gull, with its uncommon relative the Audouin's gull, a frequent companion.
In the internal regions, most often visible are the raven, the peregrine falcon, the goshawk, the golden eagle, the buzzard and, sometimes, even the griffon.
Mention should be made of the Bonelli's Eagle's (Hieraeetus fasciatus) presence on the island, one of the birds of prey under greatest threat of extinction and found in very few places in Italy.
Among small and medium-sized birds, the barbary partridge , the nightjar, the rock dove and the Marmora's warbler (Sylvia sarda), merit particular attention: all are typical bush-dwellers.