Appearance:

Unmistakalble where there is no overlap with Snow Bunting (almost always). Anonymous brown bird with white wing patch when seen foraging on ground. Views in flight are dominated by the white on wings and tail. Fairly long-tailed and passer-like. Distinguishable from Snow Bunting in all plumages by the combination of grey head and brown back. Bill dark in breeding season, and yellowish in winter. Female similar to male but slightly duller coloured. Does not perch in trees. Erect posture and frequent tail-flicking when foraging on the ground. Flight less loose than Snow Bunting, with more frequent glides on stiff wings.

Sound:

Rich repertoire. Song a staccato, variable phrase, consisting of short burst of sharp chattering in uneven tempo. The timbre is ringing, rich in harmonics and partly rolling. Among the various contact call the commonest are a high-pitched, sharp "zeet", a deeper, Brambling-like "veet, or a sparrow-like "peea". Alarm call a rolling "trr-r-r-rt", resembling Crested Tit.

Alarm, contact call, 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

Photo by Paul Cools. CC-license

CC-Photo:Frank Delbecque, Licence,Link.

CC-Photo:Steven Wytema, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Green upperparts and yellow underparts. Sides of bill yellowish, legs slate grey. Short yellow supercilium which connects to yellow lore. Long wings and relatively short tail. The flat crown and long bill gives it a different head profile from Sylvia warblers. Often raises crown feathers. Very similar to Melodious Warbler, but differs from this in pale wing-panel and longer wings. Folded wings reaches tip of under tail coverts, and primary projection is as long as tertials. Juveniles paler than adults, with whitish supercilium. The pale wing-panel extends to fringes of greater coverts in addition to secondaries. Alert and agile bird. Usually hidden in foliage, also when singing.

Sound:

Contact call distinct. A hard, trisyllabic "che-che-fink" , or "che-che-weet" with upward inflection. Song very virtuous and varied. Most similar to Marsh Warbler, but timbre and attack harder and more powerful. Tempo varied with many pauses, but includes longer, and more flowing sequences than Marsh Warbler. Song frequently interrupted by characteristic, nasal, high-pitched squeaks unlike Marsh Warbler. Master of mimicry. Imitations are often repeated several times before changing to melodious motifs or more "noisy" phrases.

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