Birds
Iceland has some 300 recorded bird species, of which around 80 breed regularly. The gyrfalcon , a large bird of prey with variable grey-white plumage, is a national icon, once appearing on the Icelandic coat of arms and exported for hunting purposes until the nineteenth century. They're not common, but occur throughout mountainous country; rather oddly, in folklore the gyrfalcon is said to be brother to the ptarmigan, its main source of food. Another spectacular bird of prey is the huge white-tailed sea eagle , though their numbers were seriously reduced in the 1980s through taking poison baits intended for escaped minks. Around a hundred breed in the Westfjords, though juveniles travel quite widely over the country. The ptarmigan is a plump game bird, plentiful across Iceland wherever there is low scrub or trees. They're well camoflaged, patterned a mottled brown to blend with summer vegetation, and changing - with the exception of black tail feathers and a red wattle around the eye - to snow-white plumage in winter. Aside from being preyed upon year-round by foxes and gyrfalcons, ptarmigan are also a traditional Christmas food, though actually protected in certain areas. Other common heathland birds include the golden plover , a migrant whose mournful piping is eagerly awaited in Iceland as the harbinger of summer; and snipe , identified by their long beaks, zigzag flight, and strange drumming noise made by two stiffened tail feathers which protrude at right angles to its body. In fields and eastuaries you'll see pink-footed geese , the most common of Iceland's wildfowl species, and even in downtown Reykjavik you'll find whooper swans ; and just about everywhere are raven , held by some Icelanders to be highly intelligent, though often associated in tales with portents of doom. Many of Iceland's ducks are coastal, though you can see almost all recorded species either on or around Myvatn, a lake in the northeast. Eider are probably the most famous Icelandic duck, known for their warm down, but birders will want to clock up harlequin and barrow's goldeneye , which occur nowhere else in Europe; for more about these species and others . Of all the country's birdlife, however, it's the huge, noisy, teeming seabird colonies which really stick in the mind. There are several types of gull - including the uniformly pale Iceland gull , and slight, graceful kittiwake - but far more common are narrow winged, stumpy fulmars , which look gull-like but are actually related to albatrosses. They nest in half-burrows or overhangs on steep slopes and cliffs, and are relatively fearless, often allowing you to approach fairly close - come too near, however, and they spit a foul-smelling oil from their double-chambered beak. In summer, flat, open places around the coast are utilised by colossal numbers of ground-nesting arctic terns , small, white birds with narrow wings, black caps and bright red beaks. It's interesting to watch the activity in a tern colony, but bear in mind that the birds relentlessly attack anything that threatens their eggs or chicks. Skuas are heavily built, brown birds with nasty tempers and a piratic lifestyle - they chase and harass weaker sea birds into dropping their catches. Like terns, they also nest on the ground in vast colonies across the southeastern coastal sandurs, and are equally defensive of their territory. Iceland's equivalent to penguins (which are only found south of the equator), are the similar-looking auks , a family that includes guillemot (murre), razorbill , and puffin . Like penguins, these hunt fish, live in huge seaside colonies, and have black-and-white plumage. Unlike penguins, however, they can also fly. Auks' beaks are distinctively specialized: long and pointed in guillemots; mid-length and broad in razorbills; and colourfully striped, sail-shaped in puffins - all aids to their specific fishing techniques. The best place to see puffins is on Heimaey in the Westman Islands - but you'll find other auks anywhere around Iceland where there are suitable nesting cliffs. One exception is the arctic-dwelling little auk , or dovekie, now seen only rarely on Grimsey, Iceland's northernmost outpost.
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