Species Accounts

Aithisg air gach gnè

All names and text below are first drafts - they will be updated as the project continues.

Scottish Crossbill

Cam-ghob Albannach

Scottish Crossbill is thought to be Britain’s only endemic bird species. It is also a species of European Conservation Concern given its small population of 300-1300 pairs, its restricted breeding range and specialised habitat requirements. The entire population of this species is resident in Scotland........Read more

Mandarin Duck

Lach-Mhandarain

Mandarin Ducks originate in China, Japan and Russia but were brought into collections of exotic wildfowl in Britain from at least the late 19th Century. The first naturalised population in Scotland was on the river Tay above Perth and...Read more

Three-cornered Leek

Creamh Trì-cheàrnach

The Three-cornered Leek is native to the Mediterranean basin around southwest Europe and northern Africa. A beautiful flower, it has been listed in the UK as a Schedule 9, non-native, invasive species. It was first recorded growing wild in 1981 with many more records from... Read more

Iberian Three-banded Slug

Seilcheag Trì-stiallach Ibèireach

The Iberian Three-banded Slug has been recorded in around 50 x 10km squares in Scotland. It is likely that it has been brought into Scotland as long as there have been imports of plants and food from the Iberian Peninsula. It was often found in greenhouses but the first Scottish record.... Read more

White-letter Hairstreak

Ròin-steallach Geal

The Gaelic for butterfly is “dealan-dè” which translates as “God’s lightning”. Appropriately, then, the White-letter Hairstreak has a distinctive, white “W” traced on the underside of its wings like a bolt of electricity. There have been two, historical records of... Read more

Bearded Tit

Cuilcear Staiseach

Bearded tits were first recorded in Scotland in 1972 but were recorded very occasionally only as scarce vagrants until a family party was seen in the Tay Reedbeds in 1991. The following year breeding was confirmed when a certain Derek Robertson -author and illustrator of this book-...Read more