Birds of Greenland

There are only about 250 birds that can be seen in the cold environment of Greenland. Interestingly about 170 of those were either introduced by accident or are vagrants who formed a population there over time.

The national bird of Greenland is the White-tailed Eagle. Other notable species include the Arctic tern, the Black Guillemot, and the Northern Fulmar.

List of Common Birds Found in Greenland

Native Birds

American Golden Plover
American Wigeon
Arctic Skua
Arctic Tern
Atlantic Puffin
Barnacle Goose
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-bellied Plover
Black Guillemot
Black-headed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Black-necked Grebe
Black Scoter
Brant
Brünnich’s Guillemot
Common Eider
Common Goldeneye
Common Guillemot
Common Merganser
Common Pochard
Common Raven
Common Redpoll
Common Ringed Plover
Common Scoter
Common Snipe
Common Tern
Dunlin
Eurasian Teal
Eurasian Wigeon
Glaucous Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Greater Scaup
Great Northern Diver
Great Skua
Green-winged Teal
Gyrfalcon
Harlequin Duck
Hooded Merganser
Horned Grebe
Iceland Gull
Ivory Gull
King Eider
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Scaup
Little Auk
Little Stint
Long-tailed Duck
Long-tailed Jaeger
Mallard
Northern Fulmar
Northern Gannet
Northern Pintail
Northern Raven
Northern Shoveler
Northern Wheatear
Parasitic Jaeger
Peregrine Falcon
Pink-footed Goose
Pomarine Skua
Purple Sandpiper
Razorbill
Red-breasted Merganser
Red Knot
Red-necked Grebe
Red-necked Phalarope
Red-throated Diver
Red-throated Loon
Red-throated Pipit
Redwing
Rock Pipit
Rock Ptarmigan
Ruff
Sabine’s Gull
Sanderling
Short-eared Owl
Smew
Snow Bunting
Snowy Owl
Steller’s Eider
Steller’s Eider
Temminck’s Stint
Thick-billed Murre
Tufted Duck
Velvet Scoter
Whimbrel
White-tailed Eagle
White Wagtail
White-winged Scoter
Willow Ptarmigan
Wilson’s Snipe
Yellow-billed Loon

Non-native Birds

Chimney Swift
Common Cuckoo
Common Gallinule
Common Nighthawk
Eared Grebe
Emperor Goose
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Graylag Goose
South Polar Skua
Tundra Swan
Virginia Rail
Water Rail

Greenland offers fantastic birding opportunities, especially during the breeding season when numerous migratory species arrive. Some of the best birding sites in the country include Zackenberg Research Station, also known as Northeast Greenland National Park, Nuuk Fjord, and Disko Island. The breeding season is a prime time to experience the avifauna of the nation. Typically starting in late May and extending through June and early July, one can spot nesting seabirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds in various locations.