BirdLife Malta filed reports with the police and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority over four dead Cory’s Shearwaters it says were killed for their feathers and dumped on top of the Għarb cliffs last weekend.

The birds’ underwing feathers had been plucked, BirdLife said, pointing out that in the past fishermen used Cory’s Shearwater’s feathers as fishing lures.

“The birds were probably killed late at night as they landed on ledges in the cliff face, returning to feed their chicks after spending a few days fishing at sea,” BirdLife Malta ornithologist John Borg said.

The cliffs where they were found are home to a medium-sized breeding colony of about 325 Cory’s Shearwater pairs.

BirdLife Malta has been studying the birds for the past 30 years and many have been fitted with individually-numbered rings. Four birds were last year also fitted with geo locators which are electronic tags, which record the location of the birds. The geo locators were attached to the rings on the birds’ legs.

One of the birds killed had one leg cut off but the other leg had no other visible injuries, BirdLife said.

At this time of the year, the chicks are completely dependent on the adults and it is highly unlikely that one parent alone would be able to provide enough food for them to survive.

BirdLife said last weekend’s incident was not an isolated case and similar incidents were recorded on a yearly basis.

These seabirds are offered maximum protection under the EU Birds Directive, which requires that areas important for them are protected as Natura 2000 sites.