The 5th edition of the Checklist of the Birds of the Mainland Fife Recording Area, which includes all accepted records to the end of September 2014 can be downloaded here.
Since the 5th edition of the Checklist was produced there have been several new species to mainland Fife observed, and a number of taxonomic changes to the British List. Additions and changes up to 19 October 2024 have been captured in the Mainland Fife Bird List below.
The Mainland Fife Bird List total currently stands at 348 species. There are a small number of occasions where it was not possible to identify beyond a species group (Fea’s-type Petrel, Isabelline Shrike group, Subalpine Warbler group), and whilst these species groups are included in the list below they are not included within the species total. The list also includes a handful of species awaiting acceptance by the relevant rarities committee (indicated with an *)
No. | Common Name | Scientific name |
1 | Brent Goose | Branta bernicla |
2 | Red-breasted Goose | Branta ruficollis |
3 | Canada Goose | Branta canadensis |
4 | Barnacle Goose | Branta leucopsis |
5 | Ross’s Goose | Anser rossii |
6 | Snow Goose | Anser caerulescens |
7 | Greylag Goose | Anser anser |
8 | Taiga Bean Goose | Anser fabalis |
9 | Pink-footed Goose | Anser brachyrhynchus= td> |
10 | Tundra Bean Goose | Anser serrirostris |
11 | White-fronted Goose | Anser albifrons |
12 | Mute Swan | Cygnus olor |
13 | Bewick’s Swan | Cygnus columbianus |
14 | Whooper Swan | Cygnus cygnus |
15 | Egyptian Goose | Alopochen aegyptiaca= td> |
16 | Shelduck | Tadorna tadorna |
17 | Mandarin Duck | Aix galericulata |
18 | Garganey | Spatula querquedula |
19 | Shoveler | Spatula clypeata |
20 | Gadwall | Mareca strepera |
21 | Wigeon | Mareca penelope |
22 | American Wigeon | Mareca americana |
23 | Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos |
24 | Pintail | Anas acuta |
25 | Teal | Anas crecca |
26 | Green-winged Teal | Anas carolinensis |
27 | Red-crested Pochard | Netta rufina |
28 | Pochard | Aythya ferina |
29 | Ferruginous Duck | Aythya nyroca |
30 | Ring-necked Duck | Aythya collaris |
31 | Tufted Duck | Aythya fuligula |
32 | Scaup | Aythya marila |
33 | Lesser Scaup | Aythya affinis |
34 | King Eider | Somateria spectabilis |
35 | Eider | Somateria mollissima= td> |
36 | Surf Scoter | Melanitta perspicillata |
37 | Velvet Scoter | Melanitta fusca |
38 | White-winged Scoter | Melanitta delgandi |
39 | Stejneger's Scoter | Melanitta stejnegeri= td> |
40 | Common Scoter | Melanitta nigra |
41 | Long-tailed Duck | Clangula hyemalis |
42 | Goldeneye | Bucephala clangula |
43 | Smew | Mergellus albellus |
44 | Hooded Merganser | Lophodytes cucullatus |
45 | Goosander | Mergus merganser |
46 | Red-breasted Merganser | Mergus serrator |
47 | Ruddy Duck | Oxyura jamaicensis |
48 | Red Grouse | Lagopus lagopus |
49 | Capercaillie | Tetrao urogallus |
50 | Black Grouse | Lyrurus tetrix |
51 | Grey Partridge | Perdix perdix |
52 | Pheasant | Phasianus colchicus |
53 | Quail | Coturnix coturnix |
54 | Red-legged Partridge= td> | Alectoris rufa |
55 | Nightjar | Caprimulgus europaeus |
56 | Chimney Swift | Chaetura pelagica |
57 | Alpine Swift | Tachymarptis melba |
58 | Swift | Apus apus |
59 | Pallid Swift | Apus pallidus |
60 | Little Swift | Apus affinis |
61 | Little Bustard | Tetrax tetrax |
62 | Cuckoo | Cuculus canorus |
63 | Pallas’s Sandgro= use | Syrrhaptes paradoxus= td> |
64 | Rock Dove | Columba livia |
65 | Stock Dove | Columba oenas |
66 | Woodpigeon | Columba palumbus |
67 | Turtle Dove | Streptopelia turtur |
68 | Collared Dove | Streptopelia decaocto |
69 | Water Rail | Rallus aquaticus |
70 | Corncrake | Crex crex |
71 | Spotted Crake | Porzana porzana |
72 | Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus |
73 | Coot | Fulica atra |
74 | Crane | Grus grus |
75 | Little Grebe | Tachybaptus ruficollis |
76 | Red-necked Grebe | Podiceps grisegena |
77 | Great Crested Grebe | Podiceps cristatus |
78 | Slavonian Grebe | Podiceps auritus |
79 | Black-necked Grebe | Podiceps nigricollis= td> |
80 | Stone-curlew | Burhinus oedicnemus |
81 | Oystercatcher | Haematopus ostralegus |
82 | Avocet | Recurvirostra avosetta |
83 | Lapwing | Vanellus vanellus |
84 | Grey-headed Lapwing | Vanellus cinereus |
85 | Golden Plover | Pluvialis apricaria |
86 | American Golden Plover= | Pluvialis dominica |
87 | Grey Plover | Pluvialis squatarola= td> |
88 | Ringed Plover | Charadrius hiaticula= td> |
89 | Little Ringed Plover= td> | Charadrius dubius |
90 | Kentish Plover | Charadrius alexandrinus |
91 | Dotterel | Charadrius morinellus |
92 | Whimbrel | Numenius phaeopus |
93 | Curlew | Numenius arquata |
94 | Bar-tailed Godwit | Limosa lapponica |
95 | Black-tailed Godwit | Limosa limosa |
96 | Hudsonian Godwit | Limosa haemastica |
97 | Turnstone | Arenaria interpres |
98 | Knot | Calidris canutus |
99 | Ruff | Calidris pugnax |
100 | Broad-billed Sandpiper | Calidris falcinellus= td> |
101 | Curlew Sandpiper | Calidris ferruginea |
102 | Temminck’s Stint | Calidris temminckii |
103 | Sanderling | Calidris alba |
104 | Dunlin | Calidris alpina |
105 | Purple Sandpiper | Calidris maritima |
106 | Little Stint | Calidris minuta |
107 | White-rumped Sandpiper | Calidris fuscicollis= td> |
108 | Buff-breasted Sandpiper | Calidris subruficollis |
109 | Pectoral Sandpiper | Calidris melanotos |
110 | Long-billed Dowitcher | Limnodromus scolopaceus |
111 | Woodcock | Scolopax rusticola |
112 | Jack Snipe | Lymnocryptes minimus= td> |
113 | Snipe | Gallinago gallinago |
114 | Wilson's Phalarope | Phalaropus tricolor |
115 | Red-necked Phalarope= td> | Phalaropus lobatus |
116 | Grey Phalarope | Phalaropus fulicarius |
117 | Common Sandpiper | Actitis hypoleucos |
118 | Spotted Sandpiper* | Actitis macularius |
119 | Green Sandpiper | Tringa ochropus |
120 | Lesser Yellowlegs | Tringa flavipes |
121 | Redshank | Tringa totanus |
122 | Wood Sandpiper | Tringa glareola |
123 | Spotted Redshank | Tringa erythropus |
124 | Greenshank | Tringa nebularia |
125 | Kittiwake | Rissa tridactyla |
126 | Sabine's Gull | Xema sabini |
127 | Bonaparte's Gull | Chroicocephalus philadelphia |
128 | Black-headed Gull | Chroicocephalus ridibundus |
129 | Little Gull | Hydrocoloeus minutus= td> |
130 | Mediterranean Gull | Ichthyaetus melanocephalus |
131 | Common Gull | Larus canus |
132 | Ring-billed Gull | Larus delawarensis |
133 | Great Black-backed Gull | Larus marinus |
134 | Glaucous Gull | Larus hyperboreus |
135 | Iceland Gull | Larus glaucoides |
136 | Herring Gull | Larus argentatus |
137 | Caspian Gull | Larus cachinnans |
138 | Yellow-legged Gull | Larus michahellis |
139 | Lesser Black-backed Gull | Larus fuscus |
140 | Caspian Tern | Hydroprogne caspia |
141 | Sandwich Tern | Thalasseus sandvicensis |
142 | Little Tern | Sternula albifrons |
143 | Roseate Tern | Sterna dougallii |
144 | Common Tern | Sterna hirundo |
145 | Arctic Tern | Sterna paradisaea |
146 | White-winged Black Tern | Chlidonias leucopterus |
147 | Black Tern | Chlidonias niger |
148 | Great Skua | Stercorarius skua |
149 | Pomarine Skua | Stercorarius pomarinus |
150 | Arctic Skua | Stercorarius parasiticus |
151 | Long-tailed Skua | Stercorarius longicaudus |
152 | Little Auk | Alle alle |
153 | Brunnich's Guillemot | Uria lomvia |
154 | Common Guillemot | Uria aalge |
155 | Razorbill | Alca torda |
156 | Black Guillemot | Cepphus grylle |
157 | Puffin | Fratercula arctica |
158 | Red-throated Diver | Gavia stellata |
159 | Black-throated Diver= td> | Gavia arctica |
160 | Pacific Diver | Gavia pacifica |
161 | Great Northern Diver= td> | Gavia immer |
162 | White-billed Diver | Gavia adamsii |
163 | Black-browed Albatross | Thalassarche melanophris |
164 | Storm Petrel | Hydrobates pelagicus= td> |
165 | Leach's Petrel= td> | Hydrobates leucorhous |
166 | Fulmar | Fulmarus glacialis |
Fea's type petrel | Pterodroma madeira/ feae/ deserta | |
167 | Scopoli's Shearwater | Calonectris diomedea= td> |
168 | Cory's Shearwater | Calonectris borealis= td> |
169 | Sooty Shearwater | Ardenna grisea |
170 | Great Shearwater | Ardenna gravis |
171 | Manx Shearwater | Puffinus puffinus |
172 | Balearic Shearwater | Puffinus mauretanicus |
173 | White Stork | Ciconia ciconia |
174 | Gannet | Morus bassanus |
175 | Brown Booby | Sula leucogaster |
176 | Cormorant | Phalacrocorax carbo |
177 | Shag | Gulosus aristotelis |
178 | Glossy Ibis | Plegadis falcinellus= td> |
179 | Spoonbill | Platalea leucorodia |
180 | Bittern | Botaurus stellaris |
181 | Little Bittern | Ixobrychus minutus |
182 | Night-heron | Nycticorax nycticorax |
183 | Squacco Heron | Ardeola ralloides |
184 | Cattle Egret | Bubulcus ibis |
185 | Grey Heron | Ardea cinerea |
186 | Purple Heron | Ardea purpurea |
187 | Great White Egret | Ardea alba |
188 | Little Egret | Egretta garzetta |
189 | Osprey | Pandion haliaetus |
190 | Honey-buzzard | Pernis apivorus |
191 | Golden Eagle | Aquila chrysaetos |
192 | Sparrowhawk | Accipiter nisus |
193 | Goshawk | Accipiter gentilis |
194 | Marsh Harrier | Circus aeruginosus |
195 | Hen Harrier | Circus cyaneus |
196 | Pallid Harrier | Circus macrourus |
197 | Red Kite | Milvus milvus |
198 | Black Kite | Milvus migrans |
199 | White-tailed Eagle | Haliaeetus albicilla= td> |
200 | Rough-legged Buzzard= td> | Buteo lagopus |
201 | Buzzard | Buteo buteo |
202 | Barn Owl | Tyto alba |
203 | Scops Owl | Otus scops |
204 | Snowy Owl | Bubo scandiacus |
205 | Little Owl | Athene noctua |
206 | Long-eared Owl | Asio otus |
207 | Short-eared Owl | Asio flammeus |
208 | Tawny Owl | Strix aluco |
209 | Hoopoe | Upupa epops |
210 | Kingfisher | Alcedo atthis |
211 | Bee-eater | Merops apiaster |
212 | Wryneck | Jynx torquilla |
213 | Great Spotted Woodpecker | Dendrocopos major |
214 | Green Woodpecker | Picus viridis |
215 | Kestrel | Falco tinnunculus |
216 | Red-footed Falcon | Falco vespertinus |
217 | Merlin | Falco columbarius |
218 | Hobby | Falco subbuteo |
219 | Peregrine | Falco peregrinus |
220 | Ring-necked Parakeet= td> | Psittacula krameri |
221 | Brown Shrike | Lanius cristatus |
222 | Red-backed Shrike | Lanius collurio |
Isabelline Shrike group | Lanius phoenicuroides/ isabellinus | |
223 | Lesser Grey Shrike | Lanius minor |
224 | Great Grey Shrike | Lanius excubitor |
225 | Woodchat Shrike | Lanius senator |
226 | Masked Shrike | Lanius nubicus |
227 | Golden Oriole | Oriolus oriolus |
228 | Jay | Garrulus glandarius |
229 | Magpie | Pica pica |
230 | Chough | Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax |
231 | Jackdaw | Coloeus monedula |
232 | Rook | Corvus frugilegus |
233 | Carrion Crow | Corvus corone |
234 | Hooded Crow | Corvus cornix |
235 | Raven | Corvus corax |
236 | Waxwing | Bombycilla garrulus |
237 | Coal Tit | Periparus ater |
238 | Willow Tit | Poecile montanus |
239 | Blue Tit | Cyanistes caeruleus |
240 | Great Tit | Parus major |
241 | Bearded Tit | Panurus biarmicus |
242 | Woodlark | Lullula arborea |
243 | Skylark | Alauda arvensis |
244 | Shore Lark | Eremophila alpestris= td> |
245 | Sand Martin | Riparia riparia |
246 | Swallow | Hirundo rustica |
247 | House Martin | Delichon urbicum |
248 | Red-rumped Swallow | Cecropis daurica |
249 | Cetti’s Warbler<= /td> | Cettia cetti |
250 | Long-tailed Tit | Aegithalos caudatus |
251 | Wood Warbler | Phylloscopus sibilatrix |
252 | Hume’s Warbler= td> | Phylloscopus humei |
253 | Yellow-browed Warbler | Phylloscopus inornatus |
254 | Pallas’s Warbler | Phylloscopus proregulus |
255 | Radde’s Warbler | Phylloscopus schwarzi |
256 | Dusky Warbler | Phylloscopus fuscatus |
257 | Willow Warbler | Phylloscopus trochilus |
258 | Chiffchaff | Phylloscopus collybita |
259 | Greenish Warbler | Phylloscopus trochiloides |
260 | Arctic Warbler | Phylloscopus borealis |
261 | Great Reed Warbler | Acrocephalus arundinaceus |
262 | Sedge Warbler | Acrocephalus schoenobaenus |
263 | Blyth’s Reed Warbler | Acrocephalus dumetorum |
264 | Reed Warbler | Acrocephalus scirpaceus |
265 | Marsh Warbler | Acrocephalus palustris |
266 | Eastern Olivaceous Warbler | Iduna pallida |
267 | Icterine Warbler | Hippolais icterina |
268 | River Warbler | Locustella fluviatilis |
269 | Grasshopper Warbler | Locustella naevia |
270 | Blackcap | Sylvia atricapilla |
271 | Garden Warbler | Sylvia borin |
272 | Barred Warbler | Curruca nisoria |
273 | Lesser Whitethroat | Curruca curruca |
274 | Sardinian Warbler | Curruca melanocephala |
Subalpine Warbler group | Curruca iberiae/ subalpina/ cantillans | |
275 | Whitethroat | Curruca communis |
276 | Firecrest | Regulus ignicapilla |
277 | Goldcrest | Regulus regulus |
278 | Wren | Troglodytes troglodytes |
279 | Nuthatch | Sitta europaea |
280 | Treecreeper | Certhia familiaris |
281 | Rose-coloured Starling | Pastor roseus |
282 | Starling | Sturnus vulgaris |
283 | Siberian Thrush | Geokichla sibirica |
284 | Song Thrush | Turdus philomelos |
285 | Mistle Thrush | Turdus viscivorus |
286 | Redwing | Turdus iliacus |
287 | Blackbird | Turdus merula |
288 | Fieldfare | Turdus pilaris |
289 | Ring Ouzel | Turdus torquatus |
290 | Spotted Flycatcher | Muscicapa striata |
291 | Robin | Erithacus rubecula |
292 | Bluethroat | Luscinia svecica |
293 | Thrush Nightingale | Luscinia luscinia |
294 | Nightingale | Luscinia megarhynchos |
295 | Red-flanked Bluetail= td> | Tarsiger cyanurus |
296 | Red-breasted Flycatcher | Ficedula parva |
297 | Pied Flycatcher | Ficedula hypoleuca |
298 | Collared Flycatcher | Ficedula albicollis |
299 | Black Redstart | Phoenicurus ochruros= td> |
300 | Redstart | Phoenicurus phoenicurus |
301 | Whinchat | Saxicola rubetra |
302 | Stonechat | Saxicola rubicola |
303 | Siberian Stonechat* | Saxicola maurus |
304 | Stejneger's Stonechat | Saxicola stejnegeri |
Eastern Stonechat group | Saxicola maurus/ stejnegeri | |
305 | Wheatear | Oenanthe oenanthe |
306 | Desert Wheatear | Oenanthe deserti |
307 | Pied Wheatear | Oenanthe pleschanka |
308 | Dipper | Cinclus cinclus |
309 | Tree Sparrow | Passer montanus |
310 | House Sparrow | Passer domesticus |
311 | Dunnock | Prunella modularis |
312 | Yellow Wagtail | Motacilla flava |
313 | Grey Wagtail | Motacilla cinerea |
314 | Pied Wagtail | Motacilla alba |
315 | Richard's Pipit | Anthus richardi |
316 | Tawny Pipit | Anthus campestris |
317 | Meadow Pipit | Anthus pratensis |
318 | Tree Pipit | Anthus trivialis |
319 | Olive-backed Pipit | Anthus hodgsoni |
320 | Red-throated Pipit | Anthus cervinus |
321 | Water Pipit | Anthus spinoletta |
322 | Rock Pipit | Anthus petrosus |
323 | Chaffinch | Fringilla coelebs |
324 | Brambling | Fringilla montifringilla |
325 | Hawfinch | Coccothraustes coccothraustes |
326 | Bullfinch | Pyrrhula pyrrhula |
327 | Common Rosefinch | Carpodacus erythrinus |
328 | Greenfinch | Chloris chloris |
329 | Twite | Linaria flavirostris= td> |
330 | Linnet | Linaria cannabina |
331 | Common Redpoll | Acanthis flammea |
332 | Lesser Redpoll | Acanthis cabaret |
333 | Arctic Redpoll | Acanthis hornemanni |
334 | Scottish Crossbill | Loxia scotica |
335 | Crossbill | Loxia curvirostra |
336 | Goldfinch | Carduelis carduelis |
337 | Siskin | Spinus spinus |
338 | Lapland Bunting | Calcarius lapponicus= td> |
339 | Snow Bunting | Plectrophenax nivalis |
340 | Corn Bunting | Emberiza calandra |
341 | Yellowhammer | Emberiza citrinella |
342 | Ortolan Bunting | Emberiza hortulana |
343 | Little Bunting | Emberiza pusilla |
344 | Yellow-breasted Bunting | Emberiza aureola |
345 | Black-headed Bunting= td> | Emberiza melanocephala |
346 | Reed Bunting | Emberiza schoeniclus= td> |
347 | White-crowned Sparrow | Zonotrichia leucophrys |
348 | Baltimore Oriole | Icterus galbula |