Please cite this dataset as: Lõhmus, A. 2024. A high-precision dataset of breeding bird distributions in forested landscapes in Estonia. Data in Brief, 57, 111012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2024.111012 The dataset depicts the distribution of all breeding bird pairs across a 14.3 km2 area in East Estonia, along River Ahja. The area comprises three adjacent, mostly forested landscape plots (forest land 81%), of which one plot (A) was mapped in three years (2020-2022) and the others once (plot B in 2021; plot C in 2022). The bird data includes the most likely centroids of each nesting territory of each species (ideally, nest location) as interpreted from multiple records; all the field data have been collected and interpreted by the author. The fieldwork included standard multi-visit mapping of nesting territories (on average, 7–8 visits from April to July), and each bird data point (5398 in total) includes a spatial accuracy assessment. In total, 98 bird species were detected. The bird data are accompanied with map layers depicting the study area borders and forest stand descriptions to facilitate habitat and landscape analyses; the available formats are MapInfo 10.5, ESRI Shape File, and csv; the co-ordinates are WGS84. Detailed descriptions of the data are included in a separate uploaded text file. The data have been used for several publications as indicated in the Reference list, notably for habitat analyses of woodland birds (Certhia familiaris; Cuculus canorus; Lophophanes cristatus; Turdus viscivorus) and for assessing forest management impacts on bird assemblages. NOTE 19.07.2024: The following corrections are to be made (v2 coming soon; thus far please consider). 1) Birddata – one TETURO record missing in Plot C. 2) Birddata – one BONBON record (Pair ID 4379) under the species code TETBON. 3) Birddata_explanations – codes for field Type missing; should read as follows: Pinus = Pinus sylvestris dominated; Picea = Picea abies dominated; Con = Mixed conifer forest (≥80% in total); Mix = Conifer-deciduous mixture (neither ≥80%); Bet = Betula sp. dominated; Ainc = Alnus incana dominated; Aglu = A. glutinosa dominated; Ptre = Populus tremula dominated; Dec = Other deciduous forest (≥80% in total).