In the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

 there are currently about 110 different species of birds although, including vagrants during the last 150 years, over 260 species have been recorded. There are about 40 common breeding birds, including the seabirds Fulmar

Fulmar

Fulmars are seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two that are extinct.-Taxonomy:As members of Procellaridae and then the order Procellariiformes, they share certain traits. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called...

 (600.000 pairs), Puffin

Puffin

Puffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...

 (550.000 pairs), Storm Petrel (250.000 pairs), Black-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake

The Black-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Larus tridactylus....

 (230.000 pairs), Guillemot

Guillemot

Guillemots is the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family . In British use, the term comprises two genera: Uria and Cepphus. In North America the Uria species are called "murres" and only the Cepphus species are called "guillemots"...

 (175.000 pairs), Manx Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

The Manx Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx Shearwaters were called Manks Puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...

 (25.000 pairs).

Symbolically, the most important of the birds of the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

 is the Eurasian Oystercatcher

Eurasian Oystercatcher

The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia,...

 (Haematopus ostralegus). Their annual arrival on about 12 March is celebrated by the Faroese people

Faroese people

The Faroese or Faroe Islanders are a Germanic ethnic group native to the Faeroe Islands. The Faroese are of mixed Norse and Gaelic origins.About 21,000 Faroese live in neighbouring countries, particularly in Denmark, Iceland and Norway....

 as the start of spring. For this reason, the Tjaldur , is recognised as the national bird of the Faroes. However, in numbers, the avifauna is dominated by an estimated two million pairs of breeding seabird

Seabird

Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...

s of several species. There are also some resident landbirds and many regular visitors, both passage migrants and breeders, as well as several species recorded occasionally as vagrants, mainly from Europe. The Faroese postal system, the Postverk Føroya

Postverk Føroya

Posta is the postal service of the Faroe Islands and was founded on 1 April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. On 16 December 2005, it became a public joint stock company under the name P/F Postverk Føroya ....

, prints stamps

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

 portraying Faroe birds. See external links.

History

In the 19th century, the islands were occasionally visited by Black-browed Albatross

Black-browed Albatross

The Black-browed Albatross or Black-browed Mollymawk, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae, and it is the most widespread and common albatross.-Taxonomy:...

; one bird regularly summering with Gannets for 34 years before it was shot for the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

. The Great Auk

Great Auk

The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...

 also visited the Faroes and may have bred there, but became extinct throughout its range in the North Atlantic in the early 19th Century due to human predation. The Pied Raven

Pied Raven

The Pied Raven was a colour morph of the North Atlantic subspecies of the Common Raven which was only found on the Faroe Islands and has disappeared since the mid twentieth century. It had large areas of white feathering, most frequently on the head, the wings and the belly, and its beak was light...

, a colour morph of the Common Raven, also occurred but disappeared by the middle of the 20th Century.

Historically, harvesting seabirds for food was an important source of nutrition for the islanders. A reduced and strictly regulated harvest, mainly of Fulmars and Puffins, continues. In general, the seabirds and their nesting areas are now strongly protected.

Anatidae

Anatidae

Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...

• Canada Goose
  Canada Goose
  The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....
  
   - introduced
• Brent Goose
  Brent Goose
  The Brant or Brent Goose, Branta bernicla, is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The Black Brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in Barnacle Goose, which looks similar but is not a close relation.-Appearance:The Brant Goose is...
  
   (helsigás) - visitor
• Greylag Goose
  Greylag Goose
  The Greylag Goose , Anser anser, is a bird with a wide range in the Old World. It is the type species of the genus Anser....
  
   (grágás) - breeding
• Greater White-fronted Goose (korngás) - visitor
• Pink-footed Goose
  Pink-footed Goose
  The Pink-footed Goose is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark...
  
   (íslandsgás) - visitor
• Barnacle Goose
  Barnacle Goose
  The Barnacle Goose belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species...
  
   (øshvít gás) - breeding
• Snow Goose
  Snow Goose
  The Snow Goose , also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed...
  
   - visitor
• Mute Swan
  Mute Swan
  The Mute Swan is a species of swan, and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less...
  
   (knubbsvanur) - introduced
• Whooper Swan
  Whooper Swan
  The Whooper Swan , Cygnus cygnus, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American Trumpeter Swan. An old name for the Whooper Swan is Elk; it is so called in Francis Willughby and John Ray's Ornithology of 1676.-Description:The Whooper Swan is similar in...
  
   (svanur, okn) - visitor
• Common Shelduck
  Common Shelduck
  The Common Shelduck is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb...
  
   - vagrant
• Mallard
  Mallard
  The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
  
   (villdunna) - breeding
• Blue-winged Teal
  Blue-winged Teal
  The Blue-winged Teal is a small dabbling duck from North America.-Description:The Blue-winged Teal is long, with a wingspan of , and a weight of . The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult...
  
   - vagrant
• Common Teal
  Common Teal
  The Eurasian Teal or Common Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian Teal is often called simply the Teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range...
  
   (krikkont) - breeding
• Gadwall
  Gadwall
  The Gadwall is a common and widespread duck of the family Anatidae.- Description :The Gadwall is 46–56 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing on average 990 g against her 850 g...
  
   - vagrant
• Eurasian Wigeon (ennigul ont) - breeding
• American Wigeon
  American Wigeon
  The American Wigeon, also American Widgeon or Baldpate, is a species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Anas. If this is split up, all wigeons will go into their old genus Mareca again...
  
   - visitor
• Northern Pintail
  Northern Pintail
  The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...
  
   (stikkont) - breeding
• Garganey
  Garganey
  The Garganey is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and western Asia, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India Santragachi and Australasia in winter, where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Linnaeus in 1758...
  
   - vagrant
• Northern Shoveler
  Northern Shoveler
  The Northern Shoveler , Northern Shoveller in British English, sometimes known simply as the Shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America, and is a rare vagrant to Australia...
  
   - vagrant
• Common Pochard - vagrant
• Tufted Duck
  Tufted Duck
  The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is a medium-sized diving duck with a population of close to one million birds.- Description :The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name.The adult female is brown with paler...
  
   (trøllont) - breeding
• Ring-necked Duck
  Ring-necked Duck
  The Ring-necked Duck is a smaller diving duck from North America.The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasian Tufted Duck, its relative. It has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back...
  
   - vagrant
• Greater Scaup
  Greater Scaup
  The Greater Scaup , just Scaup in Europe, or colloquially known as "Bluebill", for its bright blue bill, is small compared to other diving ducks, however it is larger than the closely related Lesser Scaup...
  
   - visitor
• Common Eider
  Common Eider
  The Common Eider, Somateria mollissima, is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on...
  
   (æða) – breeding
• King Eider
  King Eider
  The King Eider is a large sea duck that breeds along northern hemisphere Arctic coasts of northeast Europe, North America and Asia. The birds spend most of the year in coastal marine ecosystems at high latitudes, and migrate to Arctic tundra to breed in June and July...
  
   (æðukongur) - vagrant
• Steller's Eider
  Steller's Eider
  The Steller's Eider is a medium-large sea duck that breeds along the Arctic coasts of eastern Siberia and Alaska. The lined nest is built on tundra close to the sea, and 6-10 eggs are laid....
  
   - vagrant
• Common Scoter
  Common Scoter
  The Common Scoter is a large sea duck, 43-54 cm in length, which breeds over the far north of Europe and Asia east to the Olenyok River. The American/E Siberian M. americana is sometimes considered a subspecies of M. nigra.It winters further south in temperate zones, on the coasts of Europe as...
  
   (kolont) – vagrant
• Velvet Scoter
  Velvet Scoter
  The Velvet Scoter , also called a Velvet Duck or whitewing , is a large sea duck, which breeds over the far north of Europe and Asia west of the Yenisey basin. A small, isolated population nests in eastern Turkey...
  
   - vagrant
• Surf Scoter
  Surf Scoter
  The Surf Scoter is a large sea duck, which breeds in Canada and Alaska. It is placed in the subgenus Melanitta, along with the Velvet and White-winged Scoters, distinct from the subgenus Oidemia, Black and Common Scoters.It winters further south in temperate zones, on the coasts of the northern USA...
  
   - vagrant
• Long-tailed Duck
  Long-tailed Duck
  The Long-tailed Duck or Oldsquaw is a medium-sized sea duck. It is the only living member of its genus, Clangula; this was formerly used for the goldeneyes, with the Long-tailed Duck being placed in Harelda...
  
   (ógvella) - visitor
• Common Goldeneye
  Common Goldeneye
  The Common Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Their closest relative is the similar Barrow's Goldeneye....
  
   (súgont) - visitor
• Barrow’s Goldeneye (íslendsk súgont) - vagrant
• Red-breasted Merganser
  Red-breasted Merganser
  The Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck.-Taxonomy:The Red-breasted Merganser was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae.-Description:...
  
   (toppont) – breeding
• Common Merganser
  Common Merganser
  The Common Merganser or Goosander Mergus merganser is a large duck, of rivers and lakes of forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America. It eats fish and nests in holes in trees...
  
   (tannont) – vagrant

Phasianidae

Phasianidae

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...

• Common Quail
  Common Quail
  The Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix, is a small bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is widespread and is found in parts of Europe, .- Description :It is a small rotund bird, essentially streaked brown with...
  
   (vaktil) – former breeding visitor
• Black Grouse
  Black Grouse
  The Black Grouse or Blackgame is a large bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, breeding across northern Eurasia in moorland and bog areas near to woodland, mostly boreal...
  
   - breeding

Gaviidae

• Red-throated Diver
  Red-throated Diver
  The Red-throated Loon or Red-throated Diver is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. It breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. It is the most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family. Ranging from in length, the Red-throated...
  
   (lómur) – breeding
• Black-throated Diver
  Black-throated Diver
  The Black-throated Loon is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The species is known as an Arctic Loon in North America and the Black-throated Diver in Eurasia, its current name is a compromise proposed by the International Ornithological Committee.-Taxonomy:The...
  
   (øssvartur lómur) – vagrant
• Great Northern Diver
  Great Northern Diver
  The Great Northern Loon, Great Northern Diver, or Common Loon , is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds...
  
   (havgás) – visitor
• White-billed Diver - visitor

Podicipedidae

• Little Grebe
  Little Grebe
  The Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...
  
   (smágjør) – vagrant
• Slavonian Grebe
  Slavonian Grebe
  The Horned Grebe or Slavonian Grebe, Podiceps auritus, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The Slavonian Grebe is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater...
  
   (gjør) – breeding
• Red-necked Grebe
  Red-necked Grebe
  The Red-necked Grebe is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes...
  
   – vagrant

Procellariidae

Procellariidae

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...

• Northern Fulmar
  Northern Fulmar
  The Northern Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis, Fulmar, or Arctic Fulmar is a highly abundant sea bird found primarily in subarctic regions of the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans. Fulmars come in one of two color morphs: a light one which is almost entirely white, and a dark one which is...
  
   (havhestur) - breeding with 600,000 pairs and a certain population stays all year long
• Manx Shearwater
  Manx Shearwater
  The Manx Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx Shearwaters were called Manks Puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...
  
   (skrápur) – breeding with 25,000 pairs
• Great Shearwater
  Great Shearwater
  The Great Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. Its relationships are unclear. It belongs in the group of large species that could be separated as genus Ardenna ; within these, it might be allied with the other black-billed, blunt-tailed species Short-tailed...
  
   – visitor
• Mediterranean Shearwater
  Mediterranean Shearwater
  Mediterranean Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus sensu lato was the name used during the 1990s for what was then regarded as a polytypic species of Puffinus shearwater, but which is now regarded as two separate monotypic species:...
  
   - vagrant

Hydrobatidae

• European Storm-Petrel
  European Storm-petrel
  The European Storm Petrel or Storm Petrel is a small bird of the storm-petrel family, Hydrobatidae, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. It is the only member of the genus Hydrobates.-Description:...
  
   (drunnhvíti) - breeding with 250,000 pairs, most of them to be observed from August to November
• Leach's Storm-Petrel
  Leach's Storm-petrel
  The Leach's Storm Petrel or Leach's Petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose family. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach....
  
   (sýldur drunnhvíti, havtyrðil) – breeding with 10,000 pairs

Sulidae

Sulidae

The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...

• Northern Gannet
  Northern Gannet
  The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
  
   (súla) - breeding only in Mykines
  Mykines
  Mykines is the western-most of the main 18 islands in the Faroe Islands. See also the only settlement on the island, Mykines.Only 11 people live in village Mykines all year around. The oldest inhabitant is 75 and the youngest is 6 years old....
  
   with 2,000 pairs.

Phalacrocoracidae

• Great Cormorant
  Great Cormorant
  The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...
  
   (hiplingur) - breeding
• European Shag (skarvur) – breeding

Ardeidae

• Great Bittern
  Great Bittern
  The Eurasian Bittern or Great Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.-Etymology:...
  
   - vagrant
• American Bittern
  American Bittern
  The American Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. New evidence has led the American Ornithologists' Union to move the heron family into the order Pelecaniformes .-Description:...
  
   - vagrant
• Little Bittern
  Little Bittern
  The Little Bittern is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, native to the Old World, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Madagascar. Birds from temperate regions in Europe and western Asia are migratory, wintering in Africa and further south in...
  
   - vagrant
• Black-crowned Night Heron
  Black-crowned Night Heron
  The Black-crowned Night Heron commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia .-Description:Adults are...
  
   - vagrant
• Grey Heron
  Grey Heron
  The Grey Heron , is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in the milder south and west, but many birds retreat in winter from the ice in colder regions...
  
   (hegri) - visitor
• Purple Heron
  Purple Heron
  The Purple Heron is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa; the more northerly Asian populations also migrate further south within Asia...
  
   – vagrant

Accipitridae

Accipitridae

The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...

• European Honey Buzzard – vagrant
• White-tailed Sea-Eagle
  White-tailed Eagle
  The White-tailed Eagle , also known as the Sea Eagle, Erne , or White-tailed Sea-eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes other raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers...
  
   – vagrant
• Eurasian Sparrowhawk - vagrant
• Rough-legged Buzzard
  Rough-legged Buzzard
  The Rough-legged Buzzard , called the Rough-legged Hawk in North America, is a medium-large bird of prey. It is found in Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Eurasia during the breeding season and migrates south for the winter.The species exhibits a wide variety of plumage patterns...
  
   - vagrant
• Hen Harrier
  Hen Harrier
  The Hen Harrier or Northern Harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA, and in northern Eurasia. This species is polytypic, with two subspecies. Marsh Hawk is a historical name for the American form.It migrates...
  
   - vagrant
• Western Marsh Harrier
  Western Marsh Harrier
  The Western Marsh-harrier is a mid-sized harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian Marsh-harrier....
  
   – vagrant
• Black kite
  Black Kite
  The Black Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. Unlike others of the group, they are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their...
  
   - vagrant

Falconidae

Falconidae

The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...

• Gyrfalcon
  Gyrfalcon
  The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...
  
   – visitor
• Peregrine Falcon
  Peregrine Falcon
  The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
  
   - vagrant
• Merlin
  Merlin (bird)
  The Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the Merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter.-European and North American...
  
   (smyril) - breeding
• Common Kestrel
  Common Kestrel
  The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
  
   – visitor

Rallidae

Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

• Water Rail
  Water Rail
  The Water Rail is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the warmer parts of its breeding range...
  
   (jarðakona) - visitor
• Baillon's Crake
  Baillon's Crake
  The Baillon's Crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae.-Distribution:Their breeding habitat is sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across Asia. They used to breed in Great Britain up to the mid-19th century, but the western European population declined through drainage....
  
   – vagrant
• Spotted Crake
  Spotted Crake
  The Spotted Crake is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.Their breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across temperate Europe into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in marsh vegetation, laying 6-15 eggs...
  
    – vagrant
• Corncrake (akurskrift) – vagrant
• Common Moorhen
  Common Moorhen
  The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...
  
   - visitor
• Eurasian Coot
  Eurasian Coot
  The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. The Australian subspecies is known as the Australian Coot.-Distribution:...
  
   – visitor

Charadriidae

Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...

• Ringed Plover
  Ringed Plover
  The Common Ringed Plover or Ringed Plover is a small plover.Adults are 17-19.5 cm in length with a 35–41 cm wingspan. They have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes...
  
   (svarthálsa) – visitor
• Killdeer
  Killdeer
  The Killdeer is a medium-sized plover.Adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. The rump is tawny orange. The face and cap are brown with a white forehead. They have an orange-red eyering...
  
   - vagrant
• Eurasian Dotterel
  Eurasian Dotterel
  The Eurasian Dotterel , or in Europe just Dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds.It breeds in the Arctic tundra of northern Eurasia, from Norway to eastern Siberia, and on suitable mountain plateaus such as the Scottish highlands and the Alps...
  
   - vagrant
• Eurasian Golden Plover
  Eurasian Golden Plover
  The European Golden Plover is a largish plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers. American Golden Plover, Pluvialis dominiica, and Pacific Golden Plover, Pluvialis fulva, are both smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than European Golden Plover, and both have grey...
  
   (lógv) - breeding
• Grey Plover
  Grey Plover
  The Grey Plover , known as the Black-bellied Plover in North America, is a medium-sized plover breeding in arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding....
  
   – vagrant
• Northern Lapwing
  Northern Lapwing
  The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
  
   (vípa) - breeding

Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae

The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...

• Eurasian Woodcock
  Eurasian Woodcock
  The Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts...
  
   - visitor
• Common Snipe
  Common Snipe
  The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...
  
   (mýrisnípa) (sub-species Faroese Snipe) – breeding
• Jack Snipe
  Jack Snipe
  The Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus Lymnocryptes...
  
   - visitor
• Ruddy Turnstone
  Ruddy Turnstone
  The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
  
   - visitor
• Little Stint
  Little Stint
  The Little Stint, Calidris minuta , is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia...
  
   - vagrant
• Purple Sandpiper
  Purple Sandpiper
  The Purple Sandpiper, Calidris, Arquatella or Erolia maritima is a small shorebird.Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black...
  
   (sjógrælingur) - breeding
• Dunlin
  Dunlin
  The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...
  
   (fjallmurra) - breeding
• Red Knot
  Red Knot
  The Red Knot, Calidris canutus , is a medium sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the Great Knot...
  
   - visitor
• Sanderling
  Sanderling
  The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
  
   - visitor
• Ruff - visitor
• Common Sandpiper
  Common Sandpiper
  The Common Sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper , make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize...
  
   - vagrant
• Wood Sandpiper
  Wood Sandpiper
  The Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
  
   - vagrant
• Common Redshank
  Common Redshank
  The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
  
   (stelkur) - breeding
• Common Greenshank - vagrant
• Black-tailed Godwit
  Black-tailed Godwit
  The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
  
   (reyðspógvi) - breeding
• Bar-tailed Godwit
  Bar-tailed Godwit
  The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
  
   - visitor
• Eurasian Curlew
  Eurasian Curlew
  The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...
  
   - visitor
• Whimbrel
  Whimbrel
  The Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland....
  
   (spógvi) – breeding
• Grey Phalarope - visitor
• Red-necked Phalarope
  Red-necked Phalarope
  The Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans....
  
   (hálsareyði) – breeding

Stercorariidae

• Great Skua
  Great Skua
  The Great Skua, Stercorarius skua, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of unknown origin.-Description:...
  
   (skúgvur) - breeding with 450 pairs
• Arctic Skua
  Arctic Skua
  The Parasitic Jaeger, also known as the Arctic Skua or Parasitic Skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae....
  
   (kjógvi) - breeding with 900 pairs
• Pomarine Skua
  Pomarine Skua
  The Pomarine Skua, Stercorarius pomarinus, known as Pomarine Jaeger in North America, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migrant, wintering at sea in the tropical oceans.- Taxonomy :...
  
   (jói) – visitor
• Long-tailed Skua
  Long-tailed Skua
  The Long-tailed Skua, Stercorarius longicaudus is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae....
  
   (snældukjógvi) - visitor

Laridae

• Little Gull
  Little Gull
  The Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus or Larus minutus, is a small gull which breeds in northern Europe and Asia. It also has small colonies in parts of southern Canada. It is migratory, wintering on coasts in western Europe, the Mediterranean and the northeast USA. As is the case with many gulls,...
  
   - vagrant
• Black-headed Gull
  Black-headed Gull
  The Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...
  
   (fransaterna) - breeding with 250 pairs
• Lesser Black-backed Gull
  Lesser Black-backed Gull
  The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa...
  
   (likka) - breeding
• Herring Gull (fiskimási) - breeding with 1,500 pairs
• Iceland Gull
  Iceland Gull
  The Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides, is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, but not Iceland, where it is only seen in the winter. It is migratory, wintering from in the North Atlantic as far south as the British Isles and northernmost states of the eastern USA,...
  
   (lítil valmási) – visitor
• Glaucous Gull
  Glaucous Gull
  The Glaucous Gull is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of the northern hemisphere and the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans as far south as the British Isles and northernmost states of the USA, also on the Great...
  
   (valmási) – visitor
• Great Black-backed Gull
  Great Black-backed Gull
  The Great Black-backed Gull is the largest gull in the world, which breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic...
  
   (svartbakur) - breeding with 1,200 pairs
• Common Gull
  Common Gull
  The Common Gull or Mew Gull Larus canus is a medium-sized gull which breeds in northern Asia, northern Europe and northwestern North America. It migrates further south in winter...
  
   (skatumási, skata, gneggjus) - breeding with 1,000 pairs
• Sabine's Gull
  Sabine's Gull
  The Sabine's Gull is a small gull. Its generic placement is disputed; some authors treat it as the sole species in the genus Xema as Xema sabini, while others retain it in the genus Larus as Larus sabini. It breeds in the arctic and has a circumpolar distribution through northernmost North America...
  
   - vagrant
• Black-legged Kittiwake
  Black-legged Kittiwake
  The Black-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Larus tridactylus....
  
   (rita) - breeding with 230,000 pairs
• Ross's Gull
  Ross's Gull
  The Ross's Gull is a small gull, the only species in its genus, although it has been suggested it should be moved to the genus Hydrocoloeus, which otherwise only includes the Little Gull....
  
   - vagrant
• Ivory Gull
  Ivory Gull
  The Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea is a small gull, the only species in its genus. It breeds in the high arctic and has a circumpolar distribution through Greenland, northernmost North America, and Eurasia.-Taxonomy:...
  
   – visitor

Sternidae

• Black Tern
  Black Tern
  The Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage.- Description :...
  
   - vagrant
• White-winged Black Tern - vagrant
• Caspian Tern
  Caspian Tern
  The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...
  
   - vagrant
• Arctic Tern
  Arctic Tern
  The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...
  
   (terna) - breeding with 2,000 pairs
• Little Tern
  Little Tern
  The Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...
  
   - vagrant

Alcidae

• Little Auk
  Little Auk
  The Little Auk, or Dovekie , is a small auk, the only member of the genus Alle. It breeds on islands in the high Arctic. There are two subspecies: A. a. alle breeds in Greenland, Iceland, Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen, and A. a...
  
   (fulkubbi) - visitor
• Razorbill
  Razorbill
  The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...
  
   (álka) - breeding with 4,500 pairs
• Great Auk
  Great Auk
  The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...
  
   (gorfuglur) - extinct
• Common Guillemot
  Common Guillemot
  The Common Murre or Common Guillemot is a large auk. It is also known as the Thin-billed Murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North-Atlantic and North Pacific...
  
   (lomvigi/a) - breeding with 175,000 pairs
• Brunnich's Guillemot
  Brünnich's Guillemot
  The Thick-billed Murre or Brünnich's Guillemot is a bird in the auk family . This bird is named after the Danish zoologist Morten Thrane Brünnich...
  
   (íslandslomvigi/a) - visitor
• Black Guillemot
  Black Guillemot
  The Black Guillemot or Tystie is a medium-sized alcid.Adult birds have black bodies with a white wing patch, a thin dark bill, and red legs and feet. They show white wing linings in flight. In winter, the upperparts are pale grey and the underparts are white. The wings remain black with the large...
  
   (teisti) - breeding with 3,500 pairs
• Atlantic Puffin
  Atlantic Puffin
  The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...
  
   (lundi) – breeding with 350,000 pairs

Columbidae

• Rock Dove (bládúgva) – breeding
• Wood Pigeon - visitor
• Turtle Dove
  Turtle Dove
  The European Turtle Dove , also known as Turtle Dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons.-Distribution & Status:...
  
   – visitor

Strigidae

• Snowy Owl
  Snowy Owl
  The Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl, Great...
  
   – visitor
• Long-eared Owl
  Long-eared Owl
  The Long-eared Owl - Asio otus is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...
  
   – vagrant
• Short-eared Owl
  Short-eared Owl
  The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may...
  
   – visitor
• European Scops Owl
  European Scops Owl
  The European Scops Owl , also known as the Eurasian Scops Owl or just Scops Owl, is a small owl. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae.This bird breeds in southern...
  
   – vagrant

Hirundinidae

• House Martin
  House Martin
  The Common House Martin , sometimes called the Northern House Martin or, particularly in Europe, just House Martin, is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds in Europe, north Africa and temperate Asia; and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia...
  
   (lonsvala) - breeding
• Sand Martin
  Sand Martin
  The Sand Martin is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole of Europe and the Mediterranean countries, part of northern Asia and also North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, South America and South Asia...
  
   - vagrant
• Barn Swallow
  Barn Swallow
  The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...
  
   (svala) – breeding

Motacillidae

Motacillidae

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and...

• White Wagtail
  White Wagtail
  "Pied Wagtail" redirects here. For the related African bird, see African Pied Wagtail.The White Wagtail is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa...
  
   (erla kongsdóttir) - breeding
• Blue-headed Wagtail
  Blue-headed Wagtail
  The Yellow Wagtail, Motacilla flava, is a small passerine in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws.This species breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia and has a foothold in North America in Alaska...
  
   - visitor
• Yellow Wagtail - vagrant
• Grey Wagtail
  Grey Wagtail
  The Grey Wagtail is a small member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae. The species looks similar to the Yellow Wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to the throat and vent. Breeding males have a black throat...
  
   - vagrant
• Rock Pipit
  Rock Pipit
  The Rock Pipit, Anthus petrosus, is a small passerine bird species which breeds on rocky coasts of western Europe northwards from Brittany. It is mainly resident in Ireland, Great Britain and France, in the west of its range, but the Scandinavian and Russian populations migrate south in winter;...
  
   (grátitlingur) – breeding
• Meadow Pipit
  Meadow Pipit
  The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...
  
   (titlingur) – breeding

Turdidae

• Whinchat
  Whinchat
  The Whinchat Saxicola rubetra is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in Africa.Its scientific name means "small rock-dweller", in reference to its habitat...
  
   – vagrant
• Stonechat – vagrant
• Northern Wheatear
  Northern Wheatear
  The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
  
   (steinstólpa) - breeding
• Black Redstart
  Black Redstart
  The Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family , but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher .-Description:The Black Redstart is 13–14.5 cm in length and 12–20...
  
   – vagrant
• Common Redstart
  Common Redstart
  The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
  
   – visitor
• European Robin
  European Robin
  The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
  
   – visitor
• Red-spotted Bluethroat – vagrant
• Dusky Thrush
  Dusky Thrush
  The Dusky Thrush, Turdus eunomus, is a member of the thrush family Turdidae which breeds eastwards from central Siberia. It is closely related to the more southerly breeding Naumann's Thrush T...
  
   – vagrant
• Blackbird (kvørkveggja) - breeding
• Song Thrush
  Song Thrush
  The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...
  
   - visitor
• Redwing
  Redwing
  The Redwing is a bird in the thrush family Turdidae, native to Europe and Asia, slightly smaller than the related Song Thrush.-Taxonomy:...
  
   (oðinshani) - breeding
• Fieldfare
  Fieldfare
  The Fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in these...
  
   - visitor
• Ring Ouzel
  Ring Ouzel
  The Ring Ouzel is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is the mountain equivalent of the closely related Common Blackbird, and breeds in gullies, rocky areas or scree slopes....
  
   – vagrant
• Scaly Thrush – vagrant

Corvidae

Corvidae

Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...

• Jackdaw
  Jackdaw
  The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
  
   – visitor
• Rook
  Rook (bird)
  The Rook is a member of the Corvidae family in the passerine order of birds. Named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the species name frugilegus is Latin for "food-gathering"....
  
   - visitor
• Hooded Crow
  Hooded Crow
  The Hooded Crow is a Eurasian bird species in the crow genus. Widely distributed, it is also known locally as Scotch Crow, Danish Crow, and Corbie or Grey Crow in Ireland, which is what its Welsh name, Brân Lwyd, translates as...
  
   (kráka) – breeding
• Common Raven
  Common Raven
  The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
  
   (ravnur) - breeding (see also: Pied Raven
  Pied Raven
  The Pied Raven was a colour morph of the North Atlantic subspecies of the Common Raven which was only found on the Faroe Islands and has disappeared since the mid twentieth century. It had large areas of white feathering, most frequently on the head, the wings and the belly, and its beak was light...
  
  )

Sylviidae

Sylviidae

Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...

• Sedge Warbler
  Sedge Warbler
  The Sedge Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge Warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa...
  
   – vagrant
• Eurasian Reed-Warbler – vagrant
• Great Reed-Warbler – vagrant
• Barred Warbler
  Barred Warbler
  The Barred Warbler is a typical warbler which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. This passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern Africa....
  
   – visitor
• Garden Warbler
  Garden Warbler
  The Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin, is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe into western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in central and southern Africa...
  
   (garðljómari) – visitor
• Blackcap
  Blackcap
  The Blackcap is a common and widespread sylviid warbler which breeds throughout temperate Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and winters from northwestern Europe south to tropical Africa...
  
   – visitor
• Whitethroat
  Whitethroat
  The Common Whitethroat, Sylvia communis, is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia and Pakistan.This is one of several Sylvia species...
  
   – visitor
• Lesser Whitethroat
  Lesser Whitethroat
  The Lesser Whitethroat is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in western and central Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India.Unlike many typical warblers,...
  
   (notuljómari) – visitor
• Chiffchaff
  Chiffchaff
  The Common Chiffchaff, or simply the Chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf-warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia....
  
   – visitor
• Wood Warbler
  Wood Warbler
  The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
  
   – vagrant
• Arctic Warbler
  Arctic Warbler
  The Arctic Warbler, Phylloscopus borealis, is a widespread leaf warbler in birch or mixed birch forest near water throughout its breeding range in Fennoscandia and northern Asia. It has established a foothold in North America, breeding in Alaska. This warbler is strongly migratory; the entire...
  
   – vagrant
• Yellow-browed Warbler
  Yellow-browed Warbler
  The Yellow-browed Warbler is a leaf warbler which breeds in temperate Asia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters mainly in tropical southeast Asia, but also in small numbers in western Europe...
  
   – vagrant

Muscicapidae

• Pied Flycatcher - visitor
• Red-breasted Flycatcher
  Red-breasted Flycatcher
  The Red-breasted Flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in eastern Europe and across central Asia and is migratory, wintering in south Asia. It is a regular passage migrant in western Europe, whereas the Collared Flycatcher which breeds further west is...
  
   – vagrant
• Spotted Flycatcher
  Spotted Flycatcher
  The Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range....
  
   – vagrant
• Brown Flycatcher – vagrant

Emberizidae

Emberizidae

The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the sparrows, the...

• Corn Bunting
  Corn Bunting
  The Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae...
  
   – vagrant
• Yellowhammer
  Yellowhammer
  The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees and form small flocks in winter....
  
   – visitor
• Red-headed Bunting
  Red-headed Bunting
  The Red-headed Bunting, Emberiza bruniceps, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.It breeds in central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in India...
  
   – vagrant
• Ortolan
  Ortolan
  Ortolan may refer to:*Joseph Louis Elzéar Ortolan , a French jurist*L'Ortolan, a gourmet restaurant in the village of Shinfield, Berkshire, England*Marcel Augusto Ortolan , a Brazilian footballer...
  
   – vagrant
• Reed Bunting
  Reed Bunting
  The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
  
   – vagrant
• Lapland Bunting
  Lapland Bunting
  The Lapland Longspur or Lapland Bunting, Calcarius lapponicus, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae, a group separated by most modern authors from the Fringillidae ....
  
   – vagrant
• Snow Bunting
  Snow Bunting
  The Snow Bunting , sometimes colloquially called a snowflake, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is an arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere...
  
   (snjófulgur) – visitor

Fringillidae

• Chaffinch
  Chaffinch
  The Chaffinch , also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Description :...
  
   - visitor
• Brambling
  Brambling
  The Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Etymology :The common English name is probably derived from the German "brâma", meaning bramble or a thorny bush. It has also been called the Cock o' the North and the Mountain Finch.- Description...
  
   (fjallafinka) - visitor
• Hawfinch
  Hawfinch
  The Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes, is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Its closest living relatives are the Evening Grosbeak from North America and the Hooded Grosbeak from Central America especially Mexico.This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia...
  
   – vagrant
• Greenfinch
  Greenfinch
  -Birds:* Black-headed Greenfinch * European Greenfinch * Oriental Greenfinch * Vietnam Greenfinch * Yellow-breasted Greenfinch -Other:...
  
   - visitor
• Siskin
  Siskin
  -Birds:The name siskin when referring to a bird is derived from an adaptation of the German dialect words sisschen, zeischen, which are diminuative forms of Middle High German and Middle Low German words, which are themselves apparently of Slavic origin...
  
   – vagrant
• Linnet
  Linnet
  The Linnet is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.The Linnet derives its scientific name from its fondness for hemp and its English name from its liking for seeds of flax, from which linen is made.- Description :...
  
   – vagrant
• Twite
  Twite
  The Twite is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.The Twite is a small finch, similar in size and shape to a Linnet. Birds of the subspecies flavirostris are long, and those of the subspecies altaica are long. It lacks the red head patch and breast shown by the Linnet and the...
  
   (íriskur) – vagrant
• Common Redpoll
  Common Redpoll
  The Common Redpoll is a species in the finch family. It breeds somewhat further south than the Arctic Redpoll, also in habitats with thickets or shrubs. Nominate C. f. flammea breeds across the northern parts of North America and Eurasia. There is also an Icelandic subspecies, Icelandic Redpoll...
  
   - visitor
• Common Crossbill
  Common Crossbill
  The Common Crossbill is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds in the spruce forests of North America, where it is known as Red Crossbill, as well as Europe and Asia; some populations breed in pine forests in certain areas of all three continents, and in North...
  
   - visitor
• Two-barred Crossbill
  Two-barred Crossbill
  The Two-barred Crossbill , known as the White-winged Crossbill in North America, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae...
  
   – vagrant
• Common Rosefinch
  Common Rosefinch
  The Common Rosefinch is the most widespread and common rosefinch of Europe, where it has spread westward from Asia in recent decades: it has even been recorded breeding in England once...
  
   – vagrant
• Eurasian Bullfinch
  Eurasian Bullfinch
  The Bullfinch, Common Bullfinch or Eurasian Bullfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as Bullfinch, as it is the original bird to bear the name bullfinch.This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia...
  
   – vagrant

Ploceidae

• House Sparrow
  House Sparrow
  The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
  
   (gráspurvur) – breeding
• Tree Sparrow
  Tree Sparrow
  The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version of the adult...
  
   (gerðisspurvur) – breeding

Places

Excellent places for watching seabirds (Guillemots, Kittiwakes and Puffins are common everywhere) include

• Svínoy
  Svínoy
  Svínoy is an island located in the north-east of the Faroe Islands, to the east of Borðoy and Viðoy. It is divided into two unequally sized peninsulas. The island takes its name from Old Norse, Svíney, meaning "Swine Isle"...
  
   with many Great Skuas
• The Vestmanna
  Vestmanna
  Vestmanna is a town in the Faroe Islands on the west of the island of Streymoy. It was formerly a ferry port, until an undersea tunnel was built from Vágar to Kvívík and Stykkið. The cliffs west of Vestmanna, Vestmannabjørgini are very popular for excursions by boat.A 'Vestmann' was a "Westman",...
  
   cliffs with a boat tour
• Mykines
  Mykines
  Mykines is the western-most of the main 18 islands in the Faroe Islands. See also the only settlement on the island, Mykines.Only 11 people live in village Mykines all year around. The oldest inhabitant is 75 and the youngest is 6 years old....
  
   has the only Faroese population of Gannets
• Nólsoy
  Nólsoy
  Nólsoy is an island and village in central Faroe Islands, located to the east of the capital Tórshavn in Streymoy. There is only one settlement on the island: Nólsoy on the north-west coast on Stongin, a peninsula attached to the rest of the island by a metres-wide isthmus...
  
   has the largest colony of Storm Petrels in the world
• Skúvoy
  Skúvoy
  Skúvoy is an island in central Faroe Islands, located to the south of Sandoy. It is named after the large number of skua present on the island . There is only one settlement on the island: Skúvoy on the east coast...
  
   with the largest Faroes colony of Guillemots and lots of Great Skuas, which gave the island its name
• Suðuroy
  Suðuroy
  Suðuroy is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 km². In 2010 there were 4763 inhabitants, but there has been a gradual decline in the population numbers ever since the 1950s....
  
  has at the West coast the best accessible bird cliffs from the land side.

External links

• About the stamps and the birds
• PDF download of Faroese birds (652.31 KB, 4 pages)
• Faroenature.net - Bird Names (Latin, Faroese, English, Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish)