Mediterranean Short-toed Lark (Alaudala rufescens)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Small lark with short, blunt bill and markedly streaked breast. The long primary projection is not covered by the tertials, as in (Greater) Short-toed Lark. Upperparts browner, and the dark shoulder patch og GSL is missing. Supercilium reaches all the way to bill-base. Wing-markings diffuse. Flight and behaviour similar to GSL. Sometimes performs song flight in characteristic "slow motion".
Sound:Contact call most diagnostic. A drawn, rattling "prrrrrrrt". Longer than in GSL, and less defined. Last syllable (t) accented and with a lower pitch. Song more continuous than in GSL, with a jerky rhythm and lots of mimicry. Listen for the interweaved contact calls.
Contact call, song:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCSlender and elegant bird, about the same size as Grey Heron. Bill dark in breeding birds, otherwise yellow. Legs and feet dark, but tibia often with red tinge in breeding season. Long, S-shaped neck with sharp angle/bend. Erect posture, and less skulking, horizontal hunting behaviour than Little Egret. Almost twice the size of Little Egret, and wing-beats are considerably slower. Wings give the impression of being attached more upfront than in Little E. Feets protrude well beyond tail in flight.
Sound:Silent outside breeding ground. In colonies various harsh calls like a dry, and mechanical "kerrrrrrr", and a very nasal "geet" or "ga-geet ga-geet" are heard.
Flight 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