The Svalbard rock ptarmigan is a subspecies of rock ptarmigan, slightly larger than mainland ptarmigans. Arctic ptarmigans are white most of the year. Females begin to moult in May, eventually assuming their brown-speckled summer plumage. During the breeding season, this makes ideal camouflage. In autumn the white feathers appear again, and by September she will be completely white. The males shift plumage even faster.

Adult ptarmigans live mainly on plants (shoots, buds, and leaves). The most important species include arctic willow, purple saxifrage, tufted saxifrage, alpine bistort, and various grasses (Poa species, alpine hair grass, etc). For growing chicks, however, reproductive bulbils from alpine bistort are the most important food.

The ptarmigan breeds all over Svalbard, both along the coast and further inland.

The black guillemot is a medium-sized member of the auk family. In the breeding season it can be distinguished from other auks by its dark brown plumage with a white patch on each wing.

Along the coast the black guillemot lives on a diet of bottom-dwelling fish, crustaceans, and molluscs, whereas at sea and in sea ice it consumes more fish, primarily polar cod.

Black guillemots nest in pairs or sparse colonies scattered along coasts throughout the archipelago, but the species is mainly concentrated in the north and west.

This is Europe’s smallest auk. It is compact; its neck and bill short. In summer plumage its head and neck are brownish black, its back pure black, and its underside white. The secondary feathers on its wing have white tips that form a white band. Above each eye is a small but distinct white spot. The little auk flies with quick, whirring wingbeats.

Its diet is dominated by small pelagic crustaceans, although adult little auks sometimes eat fish larvae.

The little auk nests in colonies all over the Svalbard archipelago, but is most numerous in southwestern and northwestern Spitsbergen.

This large black-and-white auk can be distinguished from the common guillemot by its shorter, more powerful bill, the white line along the edge of the upper bill, and the lack of white streaks on its flank. In breeding plumage, its head, neck, and back are black, and its underside white. The white on its breast forms a pointed wedge up towards the dark throat. Its vocalisation at the nesting site is a low growl similar to that of the common guillemot.

The Brünnich’s guillemot’s diet is less specialised than the common guillemot’s. It lives mainly on fish and various crustaceans, but will also consume squid, for example.

Brünnich’s guillemots nest on suitable cliffs throughout Svalbard. The largest colonies are found on Hopen, Bjørnøya, the west coast of Spitsbergen, and the Storfjorden–Hinlopen region.

The black-legged kittiwake is a medium-sized gull that is easiest to distinguish at a distance by its completely black wingtips and its tern-like flight.

Kittiwakes in Svalbard live mainly on capelin, polar cod, and various crustaceans.

The black-legged kittiwake is a common breeder throughout Svalbard.

Glaucous gulls are large and powerful. Males are slightly larger than females. Adult birds have pale blue-grey backs and wings.

The glaucous gull eats a wide variety of prey including fish, molluscs, echinoderms such as sea urchins and starfish, crustaceans, other seabirds and their eggs and chicks, insects, cadavers, and rubbish.

Glaucous gulls nest all over Svalbard in pairs or small colonies.

Contrary to what many believe, the fulmar is not a gull, but a member of the albatross family. This is clear from the tube-like structure on its characteristic bill. Fulmars are uncommon in mainland Norway.

The northern fulmar eats various species of squid, bristleworms, crustaceans, and fish. Around Bjørnøya, capelin is a crucial part of the fulmar’s diet.

The fulmar nests in coastal cliffs and inland nunataks throughout most of the Svalbard archipelago, but is sparse in the northeast.

Apart from the little auk, the Atlantic puffin is the smallest of the auks. During the breeding season, the large head and parrot-like bill give them a distinctive appearance. As winter approaches, the puffin loses plates of horn from its bill and around its eyes. Both its bill and the sides of its head become drab and dark, and its legs turn yellow.

The puffin’s diet is varied. Although they live mostly on fish, they also catch and eat crustaceans, squid, and bristleworms. However, puffins that breed in the Arctic tend to consume a larger proportion of crustaceans and bristleworms than puffins living farther south.

Atlantic puffins breed in pairs or small colonies, especially along the west coast of Spitsbergen.

The common eider is a large, robust diving duck with a big head, a short neck, and a long, wedge-shaped bill. It lives primarily on various bottom-dwelling animals, particularly mussels, which it plucks from the seabed during dives as deep as ten metres.

In Svalbard, the common eider nests both on small islands near the coast, and more sparsely in coastal areas of the main islands. Most of the population nests along the west and northwest coasts of Spitsbergen and on Tusenøyane.

Bird banding or ringing is a method used to learn more about birds’ movements. The most frequently asked questions involve where the birds spend the winter, what migration routes they follow, how quickly they move, which resting sites are most important, how long they live, and what causes their death.

The basic principle of banding is that a ring of metal is fitted around the bird’s leg. Each ring has a serial number and a return address. The rings are usually made of steel to withstand wear and tear. More recently, many research projects have begun using plastic rings, often of different colours, with an alphanumeric code on them. These rings make it possible to recognise individual birds at a distance without capturing them again.

In Norway, the method of banding birds was adopted at the beginning of the 20th century; in Svalbard in the 1950s. Since then, nearly 40 000 birds have been banded in Svalbard. Most of the banded birds are seabirds, and the species of which most individuals have been banded – adults and chicks – is Brünnich’s guillemot (about 12 000 birds).

Findings of banded birds have taught us that some of the Brünnich’s guillemots from Svalbard spend the winter in the seas southwest of Greenland, near Newfoundland, and Iceland. One reason so many banded birds are found in these areas is that they are hunted. Every year, between half a million and a million Brünnich’s guillemots are shot in their wintering areas. Many of these are from Svalbard. However, studies done on Bjørnøya have shown that this hunting poses no threat to the breeding population in Svalbard. Svalbard’s oldest know Brünnich’s guillemot, banded on Bjørnøya, lived over twenty years.