Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Short-toed Lark (Calandrella brachydactyla)
Big, goose-sized duck. Gives an overall white impression. Reddish breast-band, dark blackish green head and black flight-feathers. Tip of tail black and adults with dark belly-band. Bill red. Males with red knob at base of bill. Juveniles duller, with white chin and no breast-band. Goose-like flight with slow wing-beats.
Sound:Male: Various whistling sounds. Often series of ricochet-like "piu" repeated with gradually rising and falling intensity. Also passerine-like "tzzrrrr". Female: different variants on deeper hoarse sounds like "ar-ar-ar-ar" sometimes with accented endings with rising pitch.
Display-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
CCSounds:Recorded by Louis A. Hansen,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license
Small, compact lark with finch-like bill. 30% smaller than Skylark. Primaries almost completely covered by tertiaries, as opposed to Lesser Short-toed Lark. Upperparts typical lark-like, while underparts are almost unstreaked. Most individuals shows small, black shoulder patch. Bill deep, but pointed. Base colour variable, but western birds usually warmer brown than eastern. Lacks crest. Crown is rather flat (often rufous) and head squarish. Tail black with buff centre and pure white outer feathers. Often forms finch-like flocks when not breeding. Flight moderately undulating.
Sound:Contact call a dry, short and House Sparrow-like "chirrrp", with a high-pitched component. Shorter than Skylark, and crisper and straighter than Lesser Short-toed Lark. Song usually performed high in the air, but can also be heard from the ground. 2 types of song. Either in short phrases with a typical duration of 1-3 seconds each, with stuttering introduction, and falling cadence. Other song type more confusing and harder to identify, consisting of a continuous stream of energic improvisation. Listen for interwoven contact calls, and lack of Lesser Crested Lark calls. Frequently mimicks other species.
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
CC