The Faroe Islands 358 species of bird have been recorded. There are about 40 common breeding birds, including the seabirds fulmar (600,000 pairs), puffin (550,000 pairs), storm petrel (250,000 pairs), black-legged kittiwake (230,000 pairs), guillemot (175,000 pairs), Manx shearwater (25,000 pairs). This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2022 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Accidental species are included in the total species count for the Faroe Islands. Symbolically, the most important of the birds of the Faroe Islands is the Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus). Their annual arrival on about 12 March is celebrated by the Faroe Islanders as the start of spring. For this reason, the tjaldur (pronounced ), is recognised as the national bird of the Faroes. However, in numbers, the avifauna is dominated by an estimated two million pairs of breeding seabirds of several species. There are also some resident landbirds and many regular visitors, both passage migrants and breeders, as well as several species recorded occasionally as vagrants, mainly from Europe. The Faroese postal system, the Postverk Føroya, prints stamps portraying Faroe birds. See external links. History In the 19th century, the islands were occasionally visited by black-browed albatross; one bird regularly summering with gannets for 34 years before it was killed for the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen. The great auk also visited the Faroes and may have bred there, but became extinct throughout its range in the North Atlantic in the early 19th century due to human predation. The pied raven, a colour morph of the common raven, also occurred but all had been killed by the middle of the 20th century. Historically, harvesting seabirds for food was an important source of nutrition for the islanders. A reduced and strictly regulated harvest, mainly of fulmars and puffins, continues. In general, the seabirds and their nesting areas are now strongly protected. The following tags highlight several categories of occurrence other than regular migrants and residents. (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in the Faroe Islands (I) Introduced - a species introduced to the Faroe Islands as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions Ducks, geese, and waterfowl Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae