Appearance:

Easily confused with Kestrel, especially in female and immature plumage. Adult male with clean, grey cheeks, no moustache-stripe and no streaking on crown. Upper wing, greater coverts are grey, contrasting with brick red forewing and back without dark spots. Belly sparsely spotted. Underside of wings paler with less barring than Kestrel, and with more pronounced dark wing tips and trailing edge. This is also more or less visible in females and young birds. Female and young birds has a less stern look than Kestrel, due to more faint facial markings. Mask do not extend behind the eye. Tail slighty shorter than Kestrel, usually with central feathers slightly elongated (rare in Kestrel). Talons pale, not black. Flight light and fast, with shallow wing-beats. Hovers less than Kestrel, but soars on up-winds. Identification of female/immature birds requires a combination of plumage, structural and behavioural (flight action) characters.

Sound:

Contact call diagnostic, and quite different from Kestrel. A di- or trisyllabic "che che che", resembling Partridge in timbre, with two first syllables accentuated. Frequently used in colonies an din flocks. Also a Kestrel-like, plaintive trill "vriiiiii".

Contact call:

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

CC-sound:Patrik Åberg, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Differs from Herring Gull in smaller size, lighter bill and light flight. Head profile rounded, and the small bill lacks the red spot of the larger gulls. Told apart from Kittwake by greenish legs and large white spot on wing tips. Juveniles quite similar to young Ring-billed Gulls, but latter have paler grey back, heavier, pinkish bill with dark tip, pale mid-wing panel and less contrasting terminal band of tail.

Sound:

Various mewing sounds. Similar in form to Herring Gull, but much higher pitched.

Call:

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