Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Baillon's Crake (Zapornia pusilla)
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
Most likely to be confused with Little Crake (P. parva). Most important field characters is the very short primary projection and lack of red base of bill. Some caution should be taken as missing or unorderly tertials can be confusing with regards to the projection, and immature Little Crake may sometimes also lack red base of bill. Flanks and belly more extensively barred than P. parva. Upperparts richer brown with white spots. Sexes alike, but females often with paler throat. Brown cheeks occurs in both sexes. Legs dirty olive colour and bill greenish. Immature even more easily confused with P. parva, but apart from the missing projection, note warmer brown upperparts and more heavily barred underparts, even on breast. Crown less evenly coloured than P. parva, with blackish speckles.
Sound:Rich repertiore. Male song easily overlooked due to similarity to The edible frog Pelophylax esculentus., and to being audible only a few hundred meters. The sound, a rolling "trrrrrrrr", differs from frogs in being drier and more stable in pitch. Sometimes the pitch rises slightly in the beginning of the call, but then remains stable also at the end. The call is uttered in 1-2 seconds intervals and each call is 2-3 seconds long. Some overtone modulation is common (stable pitch but change of vocal "ooeeii"). Unmated female sings with a more hurried "wirrr". Alarm call a series of nasal, hoarse "weeat" or a sharp "kriik".
Male 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
CCCC-sound:Edmunds Racinskis, Licence,Link.
CC-photo:Peter Jacobs Photos, Licence,Link.
CC-photo:gilgit2, Licence,Link.