Editing Geography of Kuwait (section)

==Biodiversity==
{{Main|Wildlife of Kuwait}}
Currently, [[List of birds of Kuwait|444 species of birds]] have been recorded in Kuwait, 18 species of which breed in the country.<ref name=bsc-eoc>{{cite web|last=Lepage|first=Denis|url=https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=KW|title=Checklist of birds of Kuwait|work=Bird Checklists of the World|publisher=Avibase}}</ref> Due to its location at the head of the Persian Gulf near the mouth of the [[Tigris–Euphrates river system|Tigris–Euphrates river]], Kuwait is situated at the crossroads of many major bird migration routes and between two and three million birds pass each year.<ref name=natstrat>{{cite web|title=National Biodiversity Strategy for the State of Kuwait|url=http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=5210|page=12|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219121906/http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=5210|archive-date=19 February 2016|date = 7 September 2015}}</ref> Kuwait's marine and littoral ecosystems contain the bulk of the country's biodiversity heritage.<ref name=natstrat /> The marshes in northern Kuwait and Jahra have become increasingly important as a refuge for passage migrants.<ref name=natstrat />

Twenty eight species of mammal are found in Kuwait; animals such as gerboa, desert rabbits and [[hedgehog]]s are common in the desert.<ref name=natstrat /> Among the endangered mammalian species are the [[red fox]] and [[wild cat]].<ref name=natstrat /> Forty reptile species have been recorded although none are endemic to Kuwait.<ref name=natstrat />

Kuwait, Oman and Yemen are the only locations where the endangered [[smoothtooth blacktip shark]] is confirmed as occurring.<ref name="biodiversity_marine">{{cite journal |last1=Edmonds |first1=N.J. |last2=Al-Zaidan |first2=A.S. |last3=Al-Sabah |first3=A.A. |last4=Le Quesne |first4=W.J.F. |last5=Devlin |first5=M.J. |last6=Davison |first6=P.I. |last7=Lyons |first7=B.P. |title=Kuwait's marine biodiversity: Qualitative assessment of indicator habitats and species |journal=Marine Pollution Bulletin |date=February 2021 |volume=163 |pages=111915 |doi=10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111915 |pmid=33360724 |bibcode=2021MarPB.16311915E |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Kuwaiti islands are important breeding areas for four species of [[tern]] and the [[socotra cormorant]].<ref name=natstrat /> [[Kubbar Island]] has been recognised an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]] because it supports a [[bird colony|breeding colony]] of [[white-cheeked tern]]s.<ref name=bli>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kubbar-island-iba-kuwait|title= Kubbar Island|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2021|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 24 February 2021}}</ref>