Eurasian oystercatcher
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.