Appearance:

Summer: Red throat (seemingly black at a distance!). Lacks white vertical framing of throat patch and white spotted back of Black-throated Diver. Winter: Quite pale. White face and eye-ring. Just a narrow stripe of dark grey along the back of the neck. In all plumages best identified by posture and silhouette, especially when seen at a distance. Slender neck, head and bill. Flat chest. Usually shows no white flank patch. Bill usually held uptilted.

Sound:

In flight; nasal, dry, gooselike series of rhythmic cackling "ko-ko-ko". Most vocal when courting and breeding. A meowing drawn-out sound starting with a register break, then falling in pitch. Display call a far reaching rolling cyclic cooing, given in long sequences.

Song/display:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-sound:Lauri Hallikainen, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Unmistakable if seen well. Stunning, bright yellow throat and turquoise underparts. Upperside of wings multicoloured with noticeable light buff shoulders, as opposed to other Bee-eaters in the region. In flight the underwing shows a black trailing edge, which on the secondaries becomes broader closer to the body . Often flies high and then reveals itself only by its flight call.

Sound:

Quite vocal in all activities. Call a short and soft "pju" often quickly repeated forming multi-syllabic, rolling phrases.

Contact call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-sound:Lars Lachmann, Licence,Link.