Most of the interior plateau is devoid of vegetation, except in a few areas, and around some lakes, where the typical birds are great northern- and red throated divers, whooper swans, pintails, scaups, and long-tailed ducks.  Land birds include golden plovers, purple sandpipers, wheatears and snow buntings.

In the oases, Thjorsarver, sheltered by the Southeastern corner of the large Hofsjokull Glacier, the vegetation is extremely profuse, and the bird life quite varied.  Besides more common birds, pink-footed geese breed in their thousands and snowy owls have also been suspected of breeding in the vicinity.

Other much smaller colonies of pink-footed geese are found in the oases Herdubreidarlindir and Hvannalindir, at Gaesavotn, in the Bruar- and Vesturoraefi, north of the large Vatnajokull Glacier, and in the gorge of River Skjalfandafljot.