Birds in Iceland

154 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for Iceland has 154 bird species recorded regularly there: 30 residents, 43 summer visitors, 25 winter visitors, 45 passage migrants and 11 scarce visitors.

The list comes from 910,000 birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.

Birds to see in Iceland in September

107 species on our list are recorded regularly this month. These are the ones birdwatchers record most often.

All 107 birds in September

Arriving in September: Common Merganser, Chiffchaff, Grey Heron, European Robin, Greater White-fronted Goose, Goldeneye, Yellow-browed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and 13 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in Iceland each month: most in September (107), fewest in December (65). Choose a month to see its birds.

107
Show as a table
Goldcrest
GoldcrestSmallest · 8.5cm
to
Whooper Swan
Whooper SwanLargest · 165cm
From the Goldcrest (8.5 cm) to the Whooper Swan (165 cm)36 families

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All 154 birds on the list

Showing 1–23 of 154 species

ResidentRecorded all yearSummer visitorArrives to breed; scarce or absent in winterWinter visitorPresent outside the breeding seasonPassage migrantSeen mainly in spring and autumn migrationScarceRecorded in some years but not every yearCommonAmong the most-recorded birds in its best monthUncommonRecorded regularly, but on a minority of outingsRareFew records, even in its best month
Redwing

Redwing

Turdus iliacusNT

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Raven

Common Raven

Corvus coraxLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Mallard

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchosLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Redpoll

Common Redpoll

Acanthis flammeaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Blackbird

Blackbird

Turdus merulaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaeaLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly May–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Eider

Eider

Somateria mollissimaNT

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Greylag Goose

Greylag Goose

Anser anserLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

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Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Plectrophenax nivalisLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Oct–Aug

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
European Herring Gull

European Herring Gull

Larus argentatusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Larus marinusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serratorLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Iceland Gull

Iceland Gull

Larus glaucoidesLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Snipe

Common Snipe

Gallinago gallinagoLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Motacilla albaLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Great Cormorant

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carboLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redshank

Redshank

Tringa totanusLC

Summer visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan

Cygnus cygnusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Anthus pratensisLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Eurasian Oystercatcher

Eurasian Oystercatcher

Haematopus ostralegusNT

Summer visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Fulmar

Fulmar

Fulmarus glacialisLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalisVU

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
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Frequently Asked Questions

Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made

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