Poaching is banned on the Mediterranean island but songbirds including robins and blackcaps are regularly trapped and served as an illegal delicacy called "ambelopoulia".

The birds, including several species that use Cyprus as a key stop-off point on their migration between Europe and Africa, are trapped with nets or glue-covered perches called limesticks.

BirdLife Cyprus and Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said poaching rates were around their highest ever, with criminal gangs earning millions from the activity.

Britain's Dhekelia military base was “the worst bird killing hotspot in the whole of Cyprus", the RSPB said.

Britain retained sovereignty over two military base areas when Cyprus won independence in 1960 and has a police force in Dhekelia that tackles poachers. But the conservation groups said it was not doing enough, saying poachers were making "blatant and extensive use of electronic calling devices" on a firing range there.

They said the most effective weapon against poaching was the removal of non-native Acacia trees, planted by trappers to lure in the birds.

But they said British authorities had largely abandoned efforts to remove the trees after protests from the illegal trapping community.AFP