Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus)
Merlin (Falco columbarius)
Large and bulky warbler with long tail, heavy, thrush-like bill and relatively strong facial markings. Supercilium broad and strong and continues behind eye. Lores dark. Primary projection same length as tertials. Flanks warm beige. Crest often raised. Flight heavy and jerky, and birds are also much more detectable by moving reeds when foraging about in vegetation than congeners. In the Middle East be aware of confusion species Clamorous Reed Warbler and Basra Reed Warbler.
Sound:Contact call a grating, dry "kirrrat", where each rolling r is discernable. Song similar to Reed Warbler in timbre, but much deeper and slower. Fairly concise motifs typically consisting of two deep mono- or disyllabic notes followed by a few higher tones. I.e: "kerek kerek, trii trii trii". Clamorous Reed Warbler differs in more diffuse motifs.
Song:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCSound recording:Recorded by Edmunds Racinskis
Smallest falcon. Male with slate grey upperparts, and pinkish buff, speckled underparts . Female dark brown above and heavily speckled below. Due to the extensive markings, the underparts give a darker impression than in Kestrel. Tail of female with dark broad bands, tail of male with broad black terminal band. Diffuse facial markings. Short wings. Silhouette similar to Peregrine, but the much faster wing beats are diagnostic. Acrobatic flight with sharp twist and turns when chasing prey. Alternating glides and bursts of wing-beats gives undulating flight.
Sound:Series of harsh "kwik-wik wik". Coarseness similar to Peregrine, but pace much quicker. Female call harsher than male. Lacking the clearer tones and attack of Kestrel.
Alarm call:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CC