Birds in Edinburgh
161 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
Our list for Edinburgh has 161 bird species recorded regularly there: 68 residents, 23 summer visitors, 30 winter visitors, 26 passage migrants and 14 scarce visitors.
The list comes from 209,000 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 Edinburgh in September
115 species on our list are recorded regularly this month. These are the ones birdwatchers record most often.

Woodpigeon
Resident

Carrion Crow
Resident

Magpie
Resident

European Robin
Resident

Lesser Black-backed Gull
Summer visitor

Jackdaw
Resident

European Herring Gull
Resident

Blue Tit
Resident
Arriving in September: Pink-footed Goose, Eurasian Skylark, Reed Bunting, Little Gull, Great Skua, Red-legged Partridge, Spotted Flycatcher, Red Crossbill and 3 more.
Through the year
Species recorded regularly in Edinburgh each month: most in September (115), fewest in February (101). Choose a month to see its birds.
All 161 birds on the list
Showing 1–23 of 161 species

Woodpigeon
Columba palumbusLC
Recorded all year

Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscusLC
Recorded all year

Carrion Crow
Corvus coroneLC
Recorded all year

Blackbird
Turdus merulaLC
Recorded all year

Magpie
Pica picaLC
Recorded all year

European Robin
Erithacus rubeculaLC
Recorded all year

Blue Tit
Cyanistes caeruleusLC
Recorded all year

European Herring Gull
Larus argentatusLC
Recorded all year
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Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebsLC
Recorded all year

Eurasian Wren
Troglodytes troglodytesLC
Recorded all year

Jackdaw
Coloeus monedulaLC
Recorded all year

Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year

Great Tit
Parus majorLC
Recorded all year

Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundusLC
Recorded all year

Chiffchaff
Phylloscopus collybitaLC
Regularly Mar–Oct

European Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelisLC
Recorded all year

Dunnock
Prunella modularisLC
Recorded all year

Mallard
Anas platyrhynchosLC
Recorded all year

Common Swift
Apus apusLC
Regularly May–Aug

House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year

Bullfinch
Pyrrhula pyrrhulaLC
Recorded all year

Long-tailed Tit
Aegithalos caudatusLC
Recorded all year

Coal Tit
Periparus aterLC
Recorded all year
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