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E-mail: font@focusonnature.com
Phone: Toll-free in USA 1-800-721-9986
 or 302/529-1876; Fax: 302/529-1085

 

A List of Birds 
in Iceland

Noting those found during 
FONT Birding & Nature Tours 
 1996 thru 2007

Those with an (*) found during FONT tours 
and months indicated when seen.

There have been 14 FONT tours in Iceland. 
They have been during the months of
May, June, September, and October.     

The following list compiled by Armas Hill


 Photo at right: A NORTHERN FULMAR
The species is plentiful in Iceland.


Code:

(ICr):  rare in Iceland

 

Links:
Upcoming Iceland Tour Itineraries

List of Birds found during previous FONT Iceland Tours


1) ICELANDIC BREEDING BIRDS

Red-throated Loon (*)  Jun Sep Oct
 (or Red-throated Diver)

Great Northern Loon  (*)  May Jun Sep Oct
 (has been called Common Loon in North America, or Great Northern Diver in Europe) 

Horned Grebe (*)  Jun Oct
 (or Slavonian Grebe)
 
Northern Fulmar (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Manx Shearwater (*)  Jun  

European Storm-Petrel   

Leach's Storm-Petrel  

European Shag (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Great Cormorant (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Northern Gannet (*)  Jun Sep Oct

Whooper Swan (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Greylag Goose (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Pink-footed Goose (*)  Jun Sep Oct

Common Shelduck (ICr)  

Mallard (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Gadwall (*)  Jun Oct

Northern Pintail (*)  Jun 

Eurasian Wigeon (*)  May Jun Oct

Eurasian Teal (*)  May Jun Oct

Northern Shoveler  

Tufted Duck (*)  May Jun Oct

Greater Scaup (*)  Jun Oct

Barrow's Goldeneye (*)  Jun Sep Oct

Long-tailed Duck (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Harlequin Duck (*)  May Jun Oct

Black Scoter (*)  May Jun Oct
 (has been called Common Scoter)

Common Eider (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Common Merganser (*)  May Jun Sep Oct
 (has also been called Goosander)
 
Red-breasted Merganser (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

White-tailed Eagle (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Gyrfalcon (*)  May Jun Oct

Merlin (*)  Jun Oct

Rock Ptarmigan (*)  May Jun Oct

Eurasian Oystercatcher (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

European Golden Plover (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Common Ringed Plover (*)  May Jun Oct 

"Eurasian" Whimbrel (*)  May Jun

Black-tailed Godwit (*)  May Jun 

Common Redshank (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Dunlin (*)  May Jun Oct

Purple Sandpiper (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Common Snipe (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Red-necked Phalarope (*)  May Jun 

Red (or Grey) Phalarope (ICr) (*)  

Parasitic Jaeger (or Arctic Skua) (*)  May Jun 

Great Skua (*)  May Jun Sep

Black-headed Gull (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Common Gull (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Glaucous Gull (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

"European" Herring Gull (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Lesser Black-backed Gull (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Great Black-backed Gull (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Black-legged Kittiwake (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Arctic Tern (*)  May Jun Sep

Black Guillemot (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Common Murre (or Guillemot) (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Thick-billed Murre (or Brunnich's Guillemot) (*)  Jun 

Razorbill (*)  Jun Oct

Atlantic Puffin (*)  May Jun

Common (or Feral) Pigeon (*)  May Jun Oct

Short-eared Owl (*)  Jun
  
Meadow Pipit (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

White Wagtail (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Northern (or Winter) Wren (*)  Jun Oct

Northern Raven (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Northern Wheatear (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Redwing (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

Common Starling (*)  May Jun Sep Oct

House Sparrow (*)  May 

Common Redpoll (*)  Jun Oct

Snow Bunting (*)  May Jun Sep Oct


2) COMMON MIGRANTS IN ICELAND

North in the spring, south in the late-summer or early-fall:

Greater White-fronted Goose (*)   Oct

Barnacle Goose (*)  Oct

Brant Goose (*)   Sep Oct

Sanderling (*)  May Jun Sep

Red Knot (*)  Jun

Ruddy Turnstone (*)   May Jun Sep Oct

From the fall thru spring:

Iceland Gull (*)   May Sep Oct

Little Auk (or Dovekie)

Fieldfare

European Blackbird

From spring into summer:

Great Shearwater

Sooty Shearwater

Barn Swallow (*)  Jun

European House Martin (*)  Jun


3) UNCOMMON TO RARE VISITORS TO ICELAND

 These species are generally found in Iceland annually.
The number of records (either exact or approximate, as of 2002) is in parentheses.


Grey Heron  (1,860)  (*)  Jun Oct

Canada Goose  (127)

Snow Goose  (153)  (*)  Sep

American Wigeon  (135)

Common Pochard  (211)

Common Goldeneye (*)  Jun
|
King Eider  (992)  (*)  Jun

Eurasian Coot  (224)  (*)  Jun

Grey (or Black-bedllied) Plover  (95)  (*)  Jun

Northern Lapwing  (2,155)

Ruff / Reeve  (94)

Eurasian Woodcock  (479)

Jack Snipe  (151)

Eurasian Curlew  (2,241)  (*)  Sep Oct

Bar-tailed Godwit  (301)  (*)  Sep

Pomarine Skua (or Pomarine Jaeger)  (3,120)

Long-tailed Jaeger (or Long-tailed Skua)  (391)

Little Gull  (171)

Ivory Gull  (258)

Common Wood-Pigeon  (374)

Eurasian Collared-Dove  (28)

European Turtle-Dove  (197)

Long-eared Owl  (157)

Snowy Owl  (455)

Common Swift  (318)

Bohemian Waxwing  (1,511)

European Robin  (818)

Song Thrush  (434)

Garden Warbler  (479)

Blackcap  (2,149)  (*)  Oct

Chiffchaff  (1,023)

Willow Warbler  (526)

Goldcrest  (524)  (*)  Jun Oct

Rook  (628)

Eurasian Jackdaw  (257)

Brambling  (2,414)

Chaffinch  (739)

Eurasian Siskin  (209) (*)  Jun

Red Crossbill  (3,282)

Lapland Longspur (or Lapland Bunting)  (267)


4) VAGRANTS TO ICELAND:

Including accidentals on the "country list" as of 2002. 
The number of records as of 2002 is in parentheses, unless indicated otherwise.

Yellow-billed Loon (or White-billed Diver)  (*)  Jun
(Prior to our Jun '06 Tour, not on the "Iceland List")

Pied-billed Grebe  (1)

Great Crested Grebe  (6)  (*)  May

Red-necked Grebe  (38)

Black-browed Albatross  (2)

Wilson's Storm-Petrel  (1)

Eurasian Bittern  (2)

American Bittern  (6)

Least Bittern  (1)

Little Bittern  (1)

Cattle Egret  (1)

Snowy Egret  (3)

Little Egret  (8)

Great (White) Egret  (1)

Purple Heron  (1)

Squacco Heron  (1)

Green Heron  (1)

(Black-crowned) Night-Heron  (7)

White Stork  (3)

Black Stork  (2)

White Spoonbill  (3)

Glossy Ibis  (6)

Mute Swan  (4)

"Bewick's" Tundra Swan  (22)

Bean Goose  (56)

Ruddy Shelduck  (7)

Wood Duck  (4)

Mandarin Duck  (8)  
 (These wanderers from the introduced British population.) 
(American) Green-winged Teal  (91)  (*)  Jun

Blue-winged Teal  (11)

Garganey  (62)  (*)  Jun

American Black Duck  (25)

Lesser Scaup  (3)

Ring-necked Duck  (40)

Redhead  (2)

Canvasback  (1)

Bufflehead  (2)

Velvet (or White-winged) Scoter  (62)

Surf Scoter  (31)

Steller's Eider  (13)

Hooded Merganser  (5)

Smew  (10)

Ruddy Duck  (80)
 (A number of these wanderers are from the introduced British population.) 
Black Kite  (2)

Red Kite  (1)

Osprey  (20)

Eurasian Sparrowhawk  (5)

Rough-legged Hawk (or Rough-legged Buzzard)  (16)

European Honey-Buzzard  (5)

Common Buzzard  (3)

Booted Eagle  (1)

Western (or Eurasian) Marsh-Harrier  (5)

Montagu's Harrier  (3)

Hen Harrier  (7)  
 (not the Northern Harrier of North America)
 
Peregrine Falcon  (16)

(Western) Red-footed Falcon  (4)

Eurasian Kestrel  (75)  (*)  Oct

Eurasian (or Northern) Hobby  (10)

Eurasian Quail  (1)

Spotted Crake  (7)

Corncrake  (30)

Common Moorhen (or Common Gallinule)  (86)

Purple Gallinule  (2)  
 (not the Purple Swamphen of the Old World)

American Coot  (2)

Common Crane  (33)

(Pied or Eurasian) Avocet  (1)  

Killdeer  (3)

Greater Sandplover  (1)

(Eurasian) Dotterel  (2)

American Golden Plover  (13)

Spotted Redshank  (8)

Common Greenshank  (16)

Greater Yellowlegs  (2)

Lesser Yellowlegs  (11)

Upland Sandpiper  (3)

Common Sandpiper  (7)

Spotted Sandpiper  (4)

Solitary Sandpiper  (3)

Green Sandpiper  (2)

Wood Sandpiper  (30)

Curlew Sandpiper  (55)

Little Stint  (18)

Least Sandpiper  (2)

Semipalmated Sandpiper  (3)

Western Sandpiper  (1)

White-rumped Sandpiper  (61)  (*)  Oct

Baird's Sandpiper  (4)

Pectoral Sandpiper  (39)

Buff-breasted Sandpiper  (9)

Broad-billed Sandpiper  (5)

Stilt Sandpiper  (1)

Long-billed Dowitcher  (4)  (*)  Sep

Wilson's Phalarope  (4)

(Eurasian) Stone-Curlew  (1)

Collared (or Common) Pratincole  (1)

Black-winged Pratincole  (3)

Ring-billed Gull  (73)

Yellow-legged Gull  (3)

Laughing Gull  (5)

Franklin's Gull  (3)

Bonaparte's Gull  (11)

Sabine's Gull  (44)  (*)  Sep

Ross' Gull  (40)

Gull-billed Tern  (2)

Sandwich Tern  (5)

Common Tern  (2)

Forster's Tern  (1)

Sooty Tern  (1)

Whiskered Tern  (1)

Black Tern  (44)

White-winged Tern  (9)

Crested Auklet  (1)

Mourning Dove  91)

Common Cuckoo  (42)

Black-billed Cuckoo  (2)

Yellow-billed Cuckoo  (3)

Eurasian Scops-Owl  (5)

Eurasian Nightjar  (2)

Common (American) Nighthawk  (1)

Alpine Swift  (3)

Belted Kingfisher  (4)

European Bee-eater  (1)

European Roller  (3)

Common Hoopoe  (9)

Great Spotted Woodpecker  (8)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  (1)

Eurasian Wryneck  (13)

Acadian Flycatcher  (1)

Eurasian Skylark  (99)

Horned Lark (or Shore Lark)  (1)

(Greater) Short-toed Lark  (3)

Bank Swallow (or Sand Martin)  (24)

Red-rumped Swallow  (1)

Cliff Swallow  (1)

Tree Pipit  (18)

"Rock" Eurasian Water Pipit  (22)

Tawny Pipit  (1)

Pechora Pipit  (1)

American (or Buff-bellied) Pipit  (6)

Yellow Wagtail  (20)

"Grey-headed" Yellow Wagtail 

Citrine Wagtail  (7)

Grey Wagtail  (25)

Cedar Waxwing  (1)

Dunnock (or Hedge Accentor)  (29)

Common Stonechat  (20)

Whinchat  (109)

(Common) Redstart  (100)

Black Redstart  (25)

Siberian Rubythroat  (1)

Bluethroat  (15)

Common Nightingale  (10)

Thrush Nightingale  (1)

Wood Thrush  (1)

Hermit Thrush  (9)

Swainson's Thrush  (3)

Gray-cheeked Thrush  (2)

Ring Ouzel  (35)

American Robin  (3)

Mistle Thrush  (42)

White's (Ground) Thrush  (1)

Lanceolated Warbler  (1)

Grasshopper Warbler  (2)

(Eurasian) River Warbler  (1)

Sedge Warbler  (10)

Blyth's Reed Warbler  (3)

Marsh Warbler  (9)

(Eurasian) Reed Warbler  (13)

Sykes's Warbler  (1)

Icterine Warbler  (3)

Melodious Warbler  (1)

Subalpine Warbler  (2)

Barred Warbler  (85)

Common Whitethroat  (29)

Lesser Whitethroat  (156)

Arctic Warbler  (2)

Wood Warbler  (55)

Yellow-browed Warbler  (75)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet  (2)

Spotted (or Brown-streaked) Flycatcher  (102)

Red-breasted Flycatcher  (21)

(European) Pied Flycatcher  (80)

Great Tit  (4)

Red-breasted Nuthatch  (1)

(Eurasian) Golden Oriole  (9)

Red-backed Shrike  (9)

Northern Shrike (or Northern Grey Shrike) (6)

Woodchat Shrike  (1)

"Hooded" Eurasian Crow  (87)

Rose-colored Starling  (27) (*)  Oct

Eurasian Tree Sparrow  (6)

Red-eyed Vireo  (18)

Black-and-white Warbler  (2)

Tennessee Warbler  (1)

Northern Parula  (7)

Yellow Warbler  (2)

Cerulean Warbler  (1)

Black-throated Blue Warbler  (1)

Blackburnian Warbler  (1)

Magnolia Warbler  (2)

"Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warbler  (13)

Palm Warbler  (1)

Blackpoll Warbler  (8)

American Redstart  (1)

Common Yellowthroat  (1)

Canada Warbler  (1)

Scarlet Tanager  (4)

Baltimore Oriole  (3)

Yellow-headed Blackbird  (1)

Common Bullfinch  (150)

Hawfinch  (14)

European Greenfinch  (3)

Linnet  (1)

Arctic (or Hoary) Redpoll  (17)

Parrot Crossbill  (5)

Common Rosefinch  (or Scarlet Grosbeak)  (61)

Rose-breasted Grosbeak  (1)

Indigo Bunting  (2)

White-throated Sparrow  (5)

White-crowned Sparrow  (1)

Fox Sparrow  (1)

Dark-eyed Junco  (1)

Yellowhammer  (12)

Pine Bunting  (1)

Little Bunting  (6)

Rustic Bunting  (4)

Reed Bunting  (21)

Ortolan Bunting  (6)

Yellow-breasted Bunting  (1)

Black-headed Bunting  (3)