Appearance:

Unmistakable in its habitat. Found by waterfalls and fast running streams. A compact and bulky bird with short wings and tail. Plumage black with brownish head (some with brown belly). Most conspicuous feature is the shiny white throat and chest. Juveniles grey instead of black, with dark barring. Constantly bobbing up and down with drooping wings when perched. White eyelid clearly visible when blinking.

Sound:

Contact call a short, metallic and explosive "zrreet", often betraying its presence perched among boulders or when flying up and down a stream. Song a mid tempo, staccato improvisation on contact call-like sounds. Not unlike a budgerigar. Both sexes sing, the female less melodic and more staccato than the male.

Song:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Appearance:

A long-tailed and relatively long-winged Locustella, with olive-brown plumage and pale belly. Conspicuously broad, rounded tail, and substantial vent. Under tail coverts brown with with prominent pale fringes, and almost reaches tail tip. Faintly streaked throat and breast. Rump and tail warmer brown than back. Faint and short supercilium and pale eye-ring. First long primary with pale outer web, and a slight curve. Song-posts often more exposed than Grasshopper Warbler.

Sound:

Song an insectlike, buzzing like Grasshopper and Savi's Warbler, but easily distinguished from those by it's distinct steam locomotive-like rhythm. About 8 accents per second. Perhaps easier to confuse with certain species of ground crickets or cicadas than it's congeners. Contact call a sharp "tsikk-tsikk", similar to Savi's Warbler.

Song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC