Species:

Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra)

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Change species:
Main Images:
Length (cm):
44-54
90-98
Wingspan (cm):
79-90
175-195
Weight (gram):
650-1300
1020-2073
Size group:
Crow-size
Bigger than a crow
Main Texts:
Appearance:

Medium sized diving duck. Male all black except orange spot on bill. Female dark brown with contrasting light grey cheeks. Differs from Velvet Scoter in all plumages by lack of white wing-bars, and longer tail. Birds resting on the surface characteristically bow their head when occasionally flapping the wings. Wings held tight against body when diving. Last two characters usable for identification at very long range. Also tend to stay closer together in groups than Velvet Scoter.

Sound:

More vocal than other Scoters. Short, whistling sounds, sometimes reminiscent of a male teal, but a little bit deeper in pitch.

Display-call male:

Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


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

Sounds:Recorded by Jarek Matusiak,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Appearance:

Very large, mostly unmistakable bird. Grey upperparts, white underparts and yellow/yellowish bill. Keeps neck retracted when flying (as opposed to crane). May be mistaken for Purple Heron, but back of neck grey, not brown. Bill heavy and dagger-shaped. Neck thicker and less angular than in Purple Heron. Unmarked cheeks.

Sound:

Quite vocal. Most common call a short, far reaching and extremely harsh, rasping sound. At breeding ground a varied repertoire of harsh and clattering sounds.

Flight call:

Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file


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

Similar species (image):
Similar species (sound):
Silhouette Group:
Duck-like
Silhouette
Heron-like
Silhouette
Several different images of the species
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Several different sounds of the species
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file
Error loading Flash for sound!
See sound file