In the Faroe Islands 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 (600,000 pairs), puffin (550,000 pairs), storm petrel (250,000 pairs), black-legged kittiwake (230,000 pairs), guillemot (175,000 pairs), Manx shearwater (25,000 pairs).
Symbolically, the most important of the birds of the Faroe Islands is the Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus). Their annual arrival on about 12 March is celebrated by the Faroese people as the start of spring. For this reason, the tjaldur (pronounced [ˈtʃaldʊɹ]), is recognised as the national bird of the Faroes. However, in numbers, the avifauna is dominated by an estimated two million pairs of breeding seabirds 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, prints stamps portraying Faroe birds. See external links.
In the 19th century, the islands were occasionally visited by black-browed albatross; one bird regularly summering with gannets for 34 years before it was shot for the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen. The great auk 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, 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.
The most common birds are listed with their Faroese names too.
Canada goose - introduced
Brent goose (helsigás) - visitor
Greylag goose (grágás) - breeding
Greater white-fronted goose (korngás) - visitor
Pink-footed goose (íslandsgás) - visitor
Barnacle goose (øshvít gás) - breeding
Snow goose - visitor
Mute swan (knubbsvanur) - introduced
Whooper swan (svanur, okn) - visitor
Common shelduck - vagrant
Mallard (villdunna) - breeding
Blue-winged teal - vagrant
Common teal (krikkont) - breeding
Gadwall - vagrant
Eurasian wigeon (ennigul ont) - breeding
American wigeon - visitor
Northern pintail (stikkont) - breeding
Garganey - vagrant
Northern shoveler - vagrant
Common pochard - vagrant
Tufted duck (trøllont) - breeding
Ring-necked duck - vagrant
Greater scaup - visitor
Common eider (æða) – breeding
King eider (æðukongur) - vagrant
Steller's eider - vagrant
Common scoter (kolont) – vagrant
Velvet scoter - vagrant
Surf scoter - vagrant
Long-tailed duck (ógvella) - visitor
Common goldeneye (súgont) - visitor
Barrow's goldeneye (íslendsk súgont) - vagrant
Red-breasted merganser (toppont) – breeding
Common merganser (tannont) – vagrant
Rock ptarmigan – introduced
Willow ptarmigan - introduced
Common quail (vaktil) – former breeding visitor
Black grouse - breeding
Red-throated diver (lómur) – breeding
Black-throated diver (øssvartur lómur) – vagrant
Great northern diver (havgás) – visitor
White-billed diver (nevgulur lómur) - visitor
Little grebe (smágjør) – vagrant
Slavonian grebe (gjør) – breeding
Red-necked grebe – vagrant
Black-browed albatross (súlukongur) - vagrant
Northern fulmar (havhestur) - breeding with 600,000 pairs and a certain population stays all year long
Manx shearwater (skrápur) – breeding with 25,000 pairs
Great shearwater – visitor
Mediterranean shearwater - vagrant
European storm petrel (drunnhvíti) - breeding with 250,000 pairs, most of them to be observed from August to November
Leach's storm petrel (sýldur drunnhvíti, havtyrðil) – breeding with 10,000 pairs
Northern gannet (súla) - breeding only in Mykines with 2,000 pairs.
Great cormorant (hiplingur) - breeding
European shag (skarvur) – breeding
Great bittern - vagrant
American bittern - vagrant
Little bittern - vagrant
Black-crowned night heron - vagrant
Grey heron (hegri) - visitor
Purple heron – vagrant
Common spoonbill - vagrant
Glossy ibis – vagrant
Pandionidae
Osprey (fiskiørn) – vagrant
European honey buzzard – vagrant
White-tailed sea eagle – vagrant
Eurasian sparrowhawk - vagrant
Rough-legged buzzard - vagrant
Hen harrier - vagrant
Western marsh harrier – vagrant
Black kite - vagrant
Gyrfalcon – visitor
Peregrine falcon - vagrant
Merlin (smyril) - breeding
Common kestrel – visitor
Water rail (jarðakona) - visitor
Baillon's crake – vagrant
Spotted crake – vagrant
Corncrake (akurskrift) – vagrant
Common moorhen - visitor
Eurasian coot – visitor
Common crane – vagrant
Eurasian oystercatcher (tjaldur) - breeding
Pied avocet - vagrant
Ringed plover (svarthálsa) – visitor
Killdeer - vagrant
Eurasian dotterel - vagrant
Eurasian golden plover (lógv) - breeding
Grey plover – vagrant
Northern lapwing (vípa) - breeding
Eurasian woodcock - visitor
Common snipe (mýrisnípa) (sub-species Faroese snipe) – breeding
Jack snipe - visitor
Ruddy turnstone - visitor
Little stint - vagrant
Purple sandpiper (sjógrælingur) - breeding
Dunlin (fjallmurra) - breeding
Red knot - visitor
Sanderling - visitor
Ruff - visitor
Common sandpiper - vagrant
Wood sandpiper - vagrant
Common redshank (stelkur) - breeding
Common greenshank - vagrant
Black-tailed godwit (reyðspógvi) - breeding
Bar-tailed godwit - visitor
Eurasian curlew - visitor
Whimbrel (spógvi) – breeding
Grey phalarope - visitor
Red-necked phalarope (hálsareyði) – breeding
Great skua (skúgvur) - breeding with 450 pairs
Arctic skua (kjógvi) - breeding with 900 pairs
Pomarine skua (jói) – visitor
Long-tailed skua (snældukjógvi) - visitor
Little gull - vagrant
Black-headed gull (fransaterna) - breeding with 250 pairs
Lesser black-backed gull (likka) - breeding
Herring gull (fiskimási) - breeding with 1,500 pairs
Iceland gull (lítil valmási) – visitor
Glaucous gull (valmási) – visitor
Great black-backed gull (svartbakur) - breeding with 1,200 pairs
Common gull (skatumási, skata, gneggjus) - breeding with 1,000 pairs
Sabine's gull - vagrant
Black-legged kittiwake (rita) - breeding with 230,000 pairs
Ross's gull - vagrant
Ivory gull – visitor
Black tern - vagrant
White-winged black tern - vagrant
Caspian tern - vagrant
Arctic tern (terna) - breeding with 2,000 pairs
Little tern - vagrant
Little auk (fulkubbi) - visitor
Razorbill (álka) - breeding with 4,500 pairs
Great auk (gorfuglur) - extinct
Common guillemot (lomvigi/a) - breeding with 175,000 pairs
Brunnich's guillemot (íslandslomvigi/a) - visitor
Black guillemot (teisti) - breeding with 3,500 pairs
Atlantic puffin (lundi) – breeding with 350,000 pairs
Pallas's sandgrouse – vagrant
Rock dove (bládúgva) – breeding
Wood pigeon - visitor
Turtle dove – visitor
Common cuckoo – vagrant
Snowy owl – visitor
Long-eared owl – vagrant
Short-eared owl – visitor
European scops owl – vagrant
Common nighthawk – vagrant
European nightjar – vagrant
Common swift – breeding
European roller – vagrant
Hoopoe – vagrant
Wryneck – visitor
Great spotted woodpecker – visitor
Skylark (lerkur) - breeding
Woodlark - vagrant
Common house martin (lonsvala) - breeding
Sand martin - vagrant
Barn swallow (svala) – breeding
White wagtail (erla kongsdóttir) - breeding
Blue-headed wagtail - visitor
Yellow wagtail - vagrant
Grey wagtail - vagrant
Rock pipit (grátitlingur) – breeding
Meadow pipit (titlingur) – breeding
Waxwing – visitor
White-throated dipper - vagrant
Eurasian wren (músabróðir) – breeding
Dunnock – vagrant
Dusky thrush – vagrant
Blackbird (kvørkveggja) - breeding
Song thrush - visitor
Redwing (oðinshani) - breeding
Fieldfare - visitor
Ring ouzel – vagrant
Scaly thrush – vagrant
Jackdaw – visitor
Rook - visitor
Hooded crow (kráka) – breeding
Common raven (ravnur) - breeding (see also: Pied raven)
Sedge warbler – vagrant
Eurasian reed warbler – vagrant
Great reed warbler – vagrant
Common chiffchaff – visitor
Wood warbler – vagrant
Arctic warbler – vagrant
Yellow-browed warbler – vagrant
Barred warbler – visitor
Garden warbler (garðljómari) – visitor
Eurasian blackcap – visitor
Common whitethroat – visitor
Lesser whitethroat (notuljómari) – visitor
Goldcrest – visitor
Common firecrest – vagrant
Whinchat – vagrant
European stonechat – vagrant
Northern wheatear (steinstólpa) - breeding
Black redstart – vagrant
Common redstart – visitor
European robin – visitor
Red-spotted bluethroat – vagrant
Pied flycatcher - visitor
Red-breasted flycatcher – vagrant
Spotted flycatcher – vagrant
Brown flycatcher – vagrant
Red-backed shrike - vagrant
Great grey shrike – vagrant
Corn bunting – vagrant
Yellowhammer – visitor
Red-headed bunting – vagrant
Ortolan – vagrant
Reed bunting – vagrant
Lapland bunting – vagrant
Snow bunting (snjófulgur) – visitor
Common chaffinch - visitor
Brambling (fjallafinka) - visitor
Hawfinch – vagrant
Greenfinch - visitor
Siskin – vagrant
Linnet – vagrant
Twite (íriskur) – vagrant
Common redpoll - visitor
Common crossbill - visitor
Two-barred crossbill – vagrant
Common rosefinch – vagrant
Eurasian bullfinch – vagrant
House sparrow (gráspurvur) – breeding
Tree sparrow (gerðisspurvur) – breeding
Common starling (stari) – breeding, endemic subspecies
Rosy starling - vagrant
Golden oriole - vagrant
Excellent places for watching seabirds (guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins are common everywhere) including:
Svínoy with many great skuas
The Vestmanna cliffs with a boat tour
Mykines has the only Faroese population of gannets
Nólsoy has the largest colony of storm petrels in the world
Skúvoy with the largest Faroese colony of guillemots and lots of great skuas, which gave the island its name
Suðuroy has at the west coast the best accessible bird cliffs from the land side
