Appearance:

Usually recognizable by size alone. Distinctly smaller than any congener. Pale wing-panel formed by inner coverts is striking in all plumages, especially in flight. Male with contrasting black and white/buff plumage. Female with dark, but pale fringed back and streaked throat. Immature with streaked, bittern-like plumage, and wing-panel is brown-spotted. Skulky behaviour, and most active at dusk or after dark. Mostly seen in flight when crossing open water. Flight action rapid and clipping, and landing is preceded by short glide.

Sound:

Mostly silent except in breeding season. Song is a series of short, deep, frog-like "gorrk", repeated every 2 seconds. Tone is muffled and hollow, but far-carrying. Flight-call a sharp "ki-ke-ke" or a nasal "ke".

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

Sound recording:Creative Commons,www.xeno-canto.org,Jarek Matusiak,http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Appearance:

Pied, medium sized woodpecker with strong bill, and diagnostic elongated white shoulder patches (scapulars). Vent always red. Male with red hindneck, female shows no read on head. Juveniles with whole crown red, barred scapulars and pinkish vent. Differs from Syrian- and Middle Spotted Woodpecker in long moustache stripe connecting to both black nape and base of bill. Flight strongly undulated with alternating burst of wing-beats and glides with closed wings.

Sound:

It's frequent drumming is easily recognized by its short duration. Typically it lasts 0.5 seconds, sometimes slightly longer. Contact call frequently hear throughout the year. A short hiccup "kek", sometimes in series. When excited this may escalate into a trill.

Contact call, alarm call, drumming:

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