Appearance:

Fairly large rail with secretive behaviour. Distinguished by long red bill, brownish upperparts, slate grey underparts, and coarsely barred flanks. White and unmarked vent often visible due to frequently used posture with flirted tail. Long legs and toes visible in flight.

Sound:

Varied but distinct. Most heard is the territorial song consisting of short, nasal, sharp grunts "tuck- tuck-tuck", ending with a drawn-out trill rising and falling in pitch "kiiiieeerrrr". Another diagnostic call is heard from excited birds; a longer pig-like shrilling squeal, with waning repetitions. A bit like someone squeezing a rubber toy. Also short and sharp calls "kvii".

Song:

Pig 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

Sounds:Recorded by Edmunds Racinskis

Appearance:

Diagnostic flight profile with rectangular, uniformly broad and deeply fingered wings. Long neck and short, wedge-shaped tail. Bill very heavy and tarsus unfeathered. Adults with pale, yellowish head and white tail. Juveniles uniformly brown with dark tail. Females bigger than males. Flight pattern: Long sequences of shallow wing-beats, and only limited glides (as opposed to Golden Eagle).

Sound:

A sharp high-pitched clear "klyytt klyytt klyytt klyytt" is often heard. Uttered with some variation in pitch and timbre. Sometimes more raucous and not so high pitched.

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

Sounds:Recorded by Martin Miethke,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license