Appearance:

White with black wing tips and yellow-buff at back of head. Juveniles brown with small pale speckles, white u-shaped rump patch and pale underparts. Fully coloured only after 5 years, and patchy, intermediate plumages often seen. Unmistakable bird at close range or with favorable light, but can be confused with shearwaters at a distance and/or in strong wind. Differs from those by long tail and much longer neck and head. Alternates between powerful, even and shallow wing-beats and glides. Flight becomes more shearwater-like in strong winds.

Sound:

Heard mostly at breeding ground. Even, rhythmical series of harsh "harrr, harrr, harrr,".

Social interaction:

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

Sounds:Recorded by Elias A. Ryberg,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Appearance:

Large and bulky Sylvia-warbler, with grey upperparts, and white to cream underparts. Adult males easily distinguished at close range, by barred underparts and yellow iris. Eye darker in females and young males. Pale, or white fringes to coverts and tertials evident in most plumages, but may be faint in young birds. Tail-corners white, and under tail-coverts always spotted. Most plumage characters difficult to see at a distance, and the general bulky and long-tailed impression of the bird, together with the white tail-corners seen in flight, are more useful for ID. Sometimes resembles more a shrike than a warbler, especially in flight.

Sound:

Varied repertoire, but mostly silent when not breeding. Contact call a rolling, dry "trrrrrrrrr-r-r-t, often with ritardando ending, of 1-2 seconds length. Also a Blackcap-like "check". Song varies among individuals and location, but is generally quite similar to Garden Warbler. Often contains mimicry of Red-backed Shrike, and other species. Phrases usually quite short, with rapid alternations between sequences of squeaky, high-pitched sounds and warbling, fluty (often disyllabic) notes. This creates a slightly bouncing rhythm, different from Garden Warbler. Sometimes includes contact call in song, which makes ID easier.

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