List of Birds of Ireland

List Of Birds Of Ireland

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Ireland. The avifauna of Ireland includes a total of 459 species, of which 3 have been introduced by humans, 249 are rare or accidental, and one occurs as both an introduced species and an accidental. Eleven species are globally threatened.

Ireland has a relatively low diversity of breeding birds due to its isolation. Several species such as Tawny Owl, Eurasian Nuthatch and Willow Tit which breed in Great Britain have not been recorded. However, there are large colonies of seabirds including important populations of European Storm Petrel, Northern Gannet and Roseate Tern. Other notable breeding birds include Corn Crake and Red-billed Chough. There are no endemic species but there are endemic subspecies of White-throated Dipper, Coal Tit and Eurasian Jay.

Large numbers of wildfowl and waders winter in Ireland, attracted by the mild climate. About half the world population of Greenland White-fronted Goose spends the winter. During autumn, many migrating seabirds can be seen off the coasts including several species of skuas, shearwaters and petrels. Ireland's westerly position means that North American birds are regularly recorded in autumn.

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) largely follow the conventions of Clements's 5th edition although some names more commonly used by Irish birdwatchers are taken from the Irish Rare Birds Committee (IRBC) list. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect the Clements taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and *accidental species are included in the total counts for Ireland. The total includes three examples of birds that have been accepted onto the official list without being identified to species: frigatebird sp., Fea's or Zino's Petrel and Black or White-tailed Wheatear.

The total does not include species placed in Category D of the Irish list. These are species where there is doubt as to whether they have occurred in a wild state (Category D1), they have arrived by human assistance such as on board a ship (D2), they have only been recorded dead on the tideline (D3), or they are feral species whose populations may not be self-sustaining (D4).

The following tags have been used to highlight certain relevant categories, but not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring, native species.

• (A) Accidental A species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Ireland.
• (I) Introduced A species introduced to Ireland as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions.