Appearance:

Easily confused with Kestrel, especially in female and immature plumage. Adult male with clean, grey cheeks, no moustache-stripe and no streaking on crown. Upper wing, greater coverts are grey, contrasting with brick red forewing and back without dark spots. Belly sparsely spotted. Underside of wings paler with less barring than Kestrel, and with more pronounced dark wing tips and trailing edge. This is also more or less visible in females and young birds. Female and young birds has a less stern look than Kestrel, due to more faint facial markings. Mask do not extend behind the eye. Tail slighty shorter than Kestrel, usually with central feathers slightly elongated (rare in Kestrel). Talons pale, not black. Flight light and fast, with shallow wing-beats. Hovers less than Kestrel, but soars on up-winds. Identification of female/immature birds requires a combination of plumage, structural and behavioural (flight action) characters.

Sound:

Contact call diagnostic, and quite different from Kestrel. A di- or trisyllabic "che che che", resembling Partridge in timbre, with two first syllables accentuated. Frequently used in colonies an din flocks. Also a Kestrel-like, plaintive trill "vriiiiii".

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:Patrik Åberg, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Similar to Reed Warbler but note very short primary projection, evenly coloured wings with dull tertials. Under tail-coverts almost white, with very little buff tinge. Legs overall darker than congeners. Immature birds with slightly paler legs and warmer upperparts and fringes to flight-feathers. Leaves a slimmer impression than Reed- and Marsh W., with flatter forehead and tapering bill. Posture often Sylvia-like with frequent cocking, flicking and fanning of tail.

Sound:

Contact call a short and sharp Lesser Whitethroat-like "tek", different from Mars W. Alarm call a dry, rolling "krrrreet", often with a register break splitting into high register overtones. Song recalls Marsh Warbler in timbre but is generally diagnostic. Tempo slow and deliberate, pace recalling that of Song Thrush, with marked pauses. Typical articulate, arpeggio-like whistling motifs alternated by mimicry are often repeated many times. Daytime song less typical than normal song at night, with faster pace and less repetition.

Song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

CC

Sound recording:Recorded by Edmunds Racinskis