Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)
Small, stocky, white heron with short bill and neck. Heavy jowl. Plumage all white, except in breeding birds which show varying amount of buff on back, crown and chest. Bill usually yellow, but turns orange-red in breeding birds, and is dark in immatures. Legs pale greyish green, but darker in young birds. May be confused with both Little Egret and Squacco Heron in flight. Differs from Little Egret in leg color and shorter, thicker neck and bill. Told from Squacco Heron by unstreaked body/head, and smaller bill. Generally leaves a less elegant impression than other small herons.
Sound:Usually silent away from breeding ground. In the colonies a chorus of various coarse sounds can be heard. Most distinct is a disyllabic "rick-rack". Other sounds includes short, guttural utterings, or drawn, harsh shrieks.
Contact calls:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCStreaking on flanks just as heavy as that on chest (see Tree Pipit). Legs pinkish. Hind toe long and almost straight. Bill slender with yellowish base. Rump unstreaked. Jerky flight pattern. Generally a featureless bird, and is easily confused with other pipits. Best identified by sound.
Sound:Contact call a short "eest". Similar to Rock Pipit but shorter,cleaner and most often in quick series. Song very similar to Rock Pipit, but tone less full and more brittle. Lacks Rock Pipit's closing trill, and beginning is less "hammering". Warning call a sharp, high pitched "tzeet". Also a rattling "trrrrt".
Song:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CC