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Shetland Bird List

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The table contains a complete list of the 473 bird species recorded in Shetland, including the year of the first record and, where relevant, Shetland name, breeding status and category.

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Key to breeding status:

 

C: common (50+ pairs)

u: uncommon but annual (fewer than 50 pairs)

sp: sporadic

e: extinct (regular or sporadic with no 21st century records)

poss: possible breeding spp.

hyb: only bred as part of a hybrid pair

Key to category:

 

C: Category C (not native/introduced)

D: Category D (uncertain provenance)

O: only seen offshore

X: globally extinct

F: only recorded on Fair Isle

P: provisional (believed to have occurred but no accepted records)

Species
Scientific Name
Shetland Name
Breeding Status
First Record
Cat.
Red Kite
Milvus milvus
1979
White-tailed Eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla
Erne
e #
1615
Rough-legged Buzzard
Buteo lagopus
1884
Common Buzzard
Buteo buteo
1858
Great Bustard
Otis tarda
1936
Little Bustard
Tetrax tetrax
1994
Water Rail
Rallus aquaticus
sp
1844
Corncrake
Crex crex
sp #
1791
Little Crake
Porzana parva
1959
Baillon’s Crake
Pazorna pusilla
1929
Spotted Crake
Porzana porzana
sp #
1881
Sora Rail
Porzana carolina
1982
Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
u
1865
Eurasian Coot
Fulica atra
sp
1769
American Coot
Fulica americana
2003
Sandhill Crane
Antigone canadensis
1981
Common Crane
Grus grus
1807
Eurasian Stone-curlew
Burhinus oedicnemus
1913
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Haematopus ostralegus
Shalder
C
1733
Pied Avocet
Recurvirostra avosetta
1822
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