Learn more about Scotland’s wide variety of fascinating bird families (including a Scottish Birds species list).

Scotland has a very diverse bird list, including world-famous birds of prey and seabirds. Thus, thousands of people visit the Scottish Highlands annually in the hope of seeing golden eagle, osprey, puffins, gannets and many others. Read on for an overview of these groups of birds, plus many more. At the end, there’s a download link for a detailed bird list and to learn about our other flora and fauna, read Wildlife in Scotland: A Beginner’s Guide.

Scotland’s true sea birds

The shearwaters and petrels are usually considered ‘true sea birds’ because they spend the majority of their life on the ocean (ie: in saltwater). Because they absorb a lot of salt in their diet, they all have a salt-excreting gland on top of their bill, giving them their other name, the ‘Tubenoses’. The Fulmar is one of the most familiar members of this family and commonly nests on cliffs at the coast. In contrast, the Storm petrel and Manx shearwater both live in burrows and crevices in legally protected colonies on various Scottish islands.

Another family in this group includes the gannets, cormorants and shags. Many of these nest in colonies, and those in Scotland are internationally important. For instance, the Bass Rock and St Kilda colonies together hold the majority of the world’s gannet population (around 200,000 birds).

Waders, gulls and auks

The waders, gulls and auks are in fact closely related, and make up one of the largest groups of birds on the Scotland list. They all live on the sea, at the coast or near freshwater lochs and rivers.

Amongst the gulls and their relatives are some important breeding and migrant species. Great skuas (aka ‘Bonxie’ in Gaelic) nest in the north and pomarine (Stercorarius pomarinus) and long-tailed skuas (S. longicaudus) are also seen on migration.

In addition to our five breeding gull species, regular migrants include glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) and Iceland gull (L. glaucoides). As well as this, our many waders include one of the world’s longest-distance migrants (the bar-tailed godwit) and the rare dotterel and red-necked phalarope. Lastly, this group also includes our auks, including the world-famous puffin.

More Scottish water birds

Scotland is home to several other families of water birds, including many familiar and rare species.

Firstly, you may see divers (also known as loons in America). These are highly specialised underwater swimmers, which are also very sensitive to disturbance. Two species breed in Scotland (red-throated and black-throated), whilst great Northern and white-billed (G. adamsii) are winter visitors.

Another group of water-loving birds is the grebes. This includes one of the rarest breeding birds in Scotland, the slavonian grebe. Herons are another group, but only one species breeds in Scotland.

The rails, crakes, coots and cranes are all adapted to life in freshwater. This group includes another of our rarest established breeding species, the corncrake. However, an even smaller population of common Cranes also exists, which are the focus of a hoped-for reintroduction project in the Cairngorms.

Sixth are the ‘waterfowl’, that is, swans, geese and ducks. Many of these birds find good quality habitat along Scottish coasts, rivers and lochs. Scotland holds almost the entire British breeding population of some species, for example the goldeneye duck. As well as large numbers of common overwintering geese and duck species, Scotland also has regular rarer migrants. These include seaducks such as surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata ), king eider (Somateria spectabilis) and occassionally, smew (Mergellus albellus).

Perhaps surprisingly, kingfishers are not common in the Highlands. This is probably due to harsh winters and flooding, but nevertheless, small numbers do manage to breed successfully.

Birds of Prey in Scotland

The Scotland list includes several large day-flying birds of prey. Sometimes called ‘raptors’, these are the eagles, buzzards, harriers, hawks and falcons. Although many of our current large apex predators are carnivorous birds, owls are not considered ‘birds of prey’. This is because owls are classified seperately due to their adaptations for nocturnal hunting.

Birds of prey have colonised almost every habitat in Scotland. As well as hunting insects, worms and other birds, the larger species also variously predate fish, red squirrels, rabbits, hares and carrion. Indeed, these efficient hunters feature as two of Scotland’s biggest conservation success stories: namely the return of breeding ospreys and white-tailed sea eagles.

Unfortunately, many potential raptor territories are vacant because of illegal raptor persecution. Nevertheless, the situation is improving with gradual changes in attitude, stronger legislation and various reintroduction and rewilding projects. Read this post to learn more about one of our most famous birds of prey: Scotland’s Golden eagles : remarkable raptors

Pro tip: The term ‘buzzard’ has different meanings in Britain and North America. The North American species most like the British ‘common buzzard’ is the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Whereas, a ‘buzzard’ in the US would be referred to as a ‘vulture’ in mainland Europe.

Game birds

The game birds include the grouse, partridges and pheasants. The capercaillie is one of Scotland’s rarest bird species, while the mountain-living ptarmigan is one of the hardiest. Red grouse are an iconic species of the Scottish Highlands, largely due to traditional hunting on extensive ‘grouse moors’. They are also one of several ‘island race’ birds, being a unique form of the continental willow grouse.

Pigeons, owls and other birds

Feral pigeons occur in cities all over Britain, but they are actually decended from the rock dove, one of our native wild pigeon species. The cuckoo is still found in reasonable numbers in Scotland, despite becoming rarer and rarer in England and Wales. This species is our only ‘brood parasite’, that is, it lays its eggs in other birds nests.

Scotland has only a few owl species. Although most of these are nocturnal hunters, the day-flying short-eared owl is a notable exception. Most owls hunt and nest in grassland or woodland, both of which are common habitats in Scotland. However, they are often at risk of collisions with vehicles. Some owls also migrate into Northern Scotland during winter, the snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca) being a spectacular example.

Another nocturnal species is the nightjar. These birds are rare in northern Scotland, and only occur in a few locations during the summer. Swifts spend more time in flight than almost any other bird species in Scotland. They are a regular summer visitor, needing caves, old trees, holes or boxes for nesting. Scotland’s plentiful woodlands make good habitat for woodpeckers. The most common species is the great spotted woodpecker and the wryneck (Jynx torquilla) is known to breed in some years, although this is very rare.

Perching birds (Passerines)

A large proportion of Scotland’s bird species list is made up of ‘Perching birds’. The ‘Passerines’, as they are called, is actually the largest group of bird species on the planet (over 50% of global total). Although they are are very diverse, they all share the characteristic of having a toe arrangement that allows perching.

This huge and varied group includes the familiar thrushes, tits, finches, crows and swallows. The unique dipper, wren and treecreeper are also passerines, in addition to many other families. Furthermore, this group includes several nationally important nesting species such as ring ouzel, crested tit, snow bunting and the endemic Scottish crossbill. Regular visitors during migration times include the spectacular waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). See the Scottish birds list below for an idea of the range of species in this group!

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So, as you can see, Scotland’s birds really are varied and fascinating. Some of Britain’s most distinctive, rare and beloved wildlife species are among them. Moreover, we have many unusual and important species visiting from abroad. See below for frequently-asked questions and a detailed Scottish Birds species list.