Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla)
Male shiny black with bright yellow bill and yellow eye-ring. Female dark brown above. Throat and chest in slightly paler tones with diffuse dark spots. Juveniles similar to females, but with fine buff streaking all over. More long-tailed than Redwing and Song Thrush. Flight action with alternating bursts of wing-beats and with little undulation (see Fieldfare).
Sound:One of the most appreciated song birds. Very melodious and resonant, with long mellow notes and a large register. Less high pitched sounds than Song Thrush, and seldom repeats a phrase. Timbre fuller than both Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush. Well defined pauses between phrases, giving the song a relaxed pace. Large repertoire of calls. Most characteristic is a hysterical rattle often given when flushed. Sometimes preceded by a hard "tok tok", which then accelerates into a panicky arpeggio-like crescendo. Contact call a thin redwing-like "srrreee". Alarm calls: a sharp "tink, tink" or a very high pitch falling whistle.
Alarm call, song:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCSmall bunting with warm rufous cheeks framed in black. Often with a pale spot hind-cheek, towards the neck. Pale eyering, pale wing-bar, rufous median and black lateral crown-stripe . Bill grey with straight culmen. Easily confused with female Reed Bunting. In addition to mentioned criteria, also note pinkish legs and much paler lores. Sexes more or less alike, but birds with rufous throat and contrasting crown-stripes are usually males.
Sound:Contact call a sharp and short "zeek". Song pleasant and melodic. Variable phrases with variable tempo. Repeated single notes are frequently interrupted by trills. Timbre rich in harmonics like other buntings.
Song:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCCC-photo:ansel.ma, Licence,Link.
CC-photo:Hiyashi Haka, Licence,Link.
Sound:Recorded by Andreas Linden, http://www.xeno-canto.org/ ,CC license