List of species and sub-species (in italics) for which a description is required by the ISBG Rarities Committee (SRC)
From January 1st 2026
In addition to the species listed below, please note that descriptions may also be required for species seen out of season, e.g. Sandwich Tern in December, or in unusual locations, e.g. Puffin on the Great Pool.
To complement the list below, full details of almost all SRC (and all BBRC) rarity sightings are now available here. The Group is extremely grateful to Keith Naylor, the British Ornithological Union Records Committee (BOURC) Historical Records Consultant, who compiled the data on behalf of the Recorder and also published the website.
Ruddy Duck
Bewick’s Swan
Snow Goose *
White-fronted Goose
Tundra Bean Goose
Taiga Bean Goose
Mandarin Duck
Egyptian Goose *
Eider (except non-eclipse males)
Surf Scoter
Velvet Scoter
Goldeneye
Smew
Goosander
Red-crested Pochard
Ring-necked Duck
American Wigeon
Green-winged Teal
Red-necked Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Common Crane
Corncrake
Spotted Crake
Stone-curlew
Avocet
Black-winged Stilt
American Golden Plover
Red-necked Phalarope
Lesser Yellowlegs
Temminck’s Stint
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Long-tailed Skua ¶
Pomarine Skua ¶
Black Guillemot
Little Auk
White-winged Black Tern
Roseate Tern
Sabine’s Gull ¶
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Gull
Scandinavian Herring Gull (argentatus)
Kumlien’s (Iceland) Gull (kumlieni)
White-billed Diver
Wilson’s Storm-petrel ¶
Leach’s Storm-petrel ¶
Balearic Shearwater ¶ (except birds seen in winter)
White Stork
Glossy Ibis
Bittern
Purple Heron
Nightjar
Alpine Swift
Barn Owl (Dark-breasted – guttata – is BBRC)
Little Owl *
Tawny Owl
Honey Buzzard
Golden Eagle *
Goshawk
Montagu’s Harrier
Black Kite
White-tailed Eagle
Rough-legged Buzzard
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker *
Green Woodpecker
Red-footed Falcon
Ring-necked Parakeet *
Great Grey Shrike
Woodchat Shrike (except birds in adult plumage)
Chough
Jay
Magpie
Penduline Tit
Coal Tit
Crested Tit
Marsh Tit *
Willow Tit *
Bearded Tit
Woodlark
Shore Lark
Icterine Warbler
Melodious Warbler
Blyth’s Reed Warbler
Marsh Warbler
Long-tailed Tit
Pallas’s Warbler
Radde’s Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Siberian Chiffchaff (tristis) (birds seen from May to September only)
Greenish Warbler
Arctic Warbler
Barred Warbler
Dartford Warbler
Nuthatch *
Treecreeper
Nightingale
Bluethroat (White-throated – cyanecula – is BBRC)
Red-flanked Bluetail
Dipper *
Tree Sparrow
Grey-headed Wagtail (thunbergi)
Citrine Wagtail
Richard’s Pipit
Olive-backed Pipit
Scandinavian Rock Pipit (littoralis)
Water Pipit
Common Rosefinch
Twite
Mealy Redpoll (flammea)
Greenland Redpoll (rostrata)
(N.B. exilipes and hornemanni (Arctic Redpoll) are BBRC)
Parrot Crossbill *
Corn Bunting
Ortolan Bunting
Cirl Bunting
Yellowhammer
Notes:
* These species have not yet been recorded on Scilly. (In addition, Scottish Crossbill and sedentary gamebirds are unlikely to reach Scilly naturally.)
¶ Except birds seen on pelagic trips.
Leach’s Petrel © Joe Pender