Appearance:

A small, elegant diving duck with highly variable looks depending on sex and time of year. Several moults with transitional plumages. Males with long, pointed tail and pink banded bill in most plumages. Females with grey bill. In all plumages note: small head, steep forehead and short bill with high base. Wings always all dark (also underside). Only diving duck with dark wings and light body. Flies with wings hardly raised above horizontal plane on upstroke.

Sound:

Very vocal and distinct. Male: a pleasant resonant melodic "ahh-aaooee" in a yodeling, breaking triad. Starting with an accented first note (ahh), then gliding from first through second and third note (-aaoooeee). Far carrying. Female: calls often, but less musical and distinct than male.

Male song:

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

Sounds:Recorded by Ian Cruickshank,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Appearance:

Recognized in all plumages by its rounded head, steep forehead, short neck and contrasting white belly. Males with brown head and light yellow forehead, pinkish breast and grey body. Adult males with big white patch on forewing. Female mostly brown with bluish bill. Tail rather long and pointed, and wings narrow. Quite pale underwings, but not completely white like American Wigeon.

Sound:

Male: a pleasant high pitched whistle "piiiiuuu", rapidly rising in pitch and then falling. Quite vocal. Female: a harsh "kraaa kraaa kraa" more like female diving-ducks than other dabbling-ducks.

Display-call male:

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

Sounds:Recorded by Patrick Åberg,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license