Skuas to woodpeckers

Families included in this section are the skuas, gulls, terns, auks, pigeons, owls, Hoopoe and woodpeckers. Breeding skuas in Norway involve Parasitic, Long-tailed and Great Skua. Parasitic Skuas breed near the coast, as does the Great Skua (but very local). The Long-tailed Skua breeds in alpine habitats in many parts of our country as long as it is a good abundance of small rodents. We have seven breeding gull-species, with Mew, Herring (subspecies argentatus) and Kittiwake as the most numerous. Arctic and Common Terns are common breeders, while Sandwich and Little Terns rarely breed.

Among auks the Black Guillemot is the most widespread breeder, but Atlantic Puffins are the most numerous with a couple of million pairs breeding in good years. Four dove-species breed; Feral and Wood Pigeon, as well as Stock and Collared Dove.

In Norway ten breeding owl-species can be found. Some of them, such as Snowy, Great Grey and Ural Owls are really hard to find. In good years it shouldn't be very difficult to find Northern Hawk, Tawny, Pygmy, Short and Long-eared as well as Tengmalm's Owls during spring. However, to get all the species you may have to travel a bit. Eight woodpecker-species breed. Great Spotted and Three-toed Woodpeckers are the most numerous. However, the last six ought to be reasonable goals in a somewhat far-reaching trip as well. Asterisk (*) behind the English name indicates that the species is a rarity in Norway.

Parasitic Skua	Tyvjo	Stercorarius parasiticus
Long-tailed Skua	Fjelljo	Stercorarius longicaudus
Great Skua	Storjo	Catharacta skua
Mediterranean Gull *	Svartehavsmåke	Larus melanocephalus
Little Gull	Dvergmåke		Larus minutus
Black-headed Gull	Hettemåke	Larus ridibundus
Ring-billed Gull *	Ringnebbmåke	Larus delawarensis
Mew Gull	Fiskemåke	Larus canus
Lesser Black-backed Gull	Sildemåke	Larus fuscus
Caspian Gull *	Kaspimåke	Larus cachinnans
Herring Gull	Gråmåke	Larus argentatus
Iceland Gull	Grønlandsmåke	Larus glaucoides
Glaucous Gull	Polarmåke	Larus hyperboreus
Great Black-backed Gull	Svartbak	Larus marinus
Black-legged Kittiwake	Krykkje	Rissa tridactyla
Ivory Gull *	Ismåke	Pagophila eburnea
Common Tern	Makrellterne	Sterna hirundo
Arctic Tern	Rødnebbterne	Sterna paradisaea
Black Tern *	Svartterne	Chlidonias niger
Razorbill	Alke	Alca torda
Black Guillemot	Teist	Cepphus grylle
Atlantic Puffin	Lunde	Fratercula arctica
Wood Pigeon	Ringdue	Columba palumbus
Collared Dove	Tyrkerdue	Streptopelia decaocto
Turtle Dove	Turteldue	Streptopelia turtur
Common Cuckoo	Gjøk	Cuculus canorus
Eagle Owl	Hubro	Bubo bubo
Northern Hawk Owl	Haukugle	Surnia ulula
Pygmy Owl	Spurveugle	Glaucidium passerinum
Tawny Owl	Kattugle	Strix aluco
Tengmalm's Owl	Perleugle	Aegolius funereus
Long-eared Owl	Hornugle	Asio otus
Short-eared Owl	Jordugle	Asio flammeus
Common Swift	Tårnseiler	Apus apus
European Bee-eater *	Bieter	Merops apiaster
Hoopoe *	Hærfugl	Upupa epops
Grey-headed Woodpecker	Gråspett	Picus canus
Green Woodpecker	Grønnspett	Picus viridis
Great Spotted Woodpecker	Flaggspett	Dendrocopos major
White-backed Woodpecker	Hvitryggspett	Dendrocopos leucotos