Appearance:

Variable plumage, but not as varied as Buzzard. Prominent black carpal patches and broad black terminal band on tail in all plumages. Upperparts dark and speckled, underparts pale. Head is paler than back, and base of bill paler still. Conspicuous white base of tail, and upperside of tail contrasts with the dark back. Female with big black belly patch, and one broad terminal band on tail. In males the belly patch this is less prominent, and the tail has 1-2 narrow bands in addition to the terminal one. Only other raptor with white tail and broad terminal band in the area is young Golden Eagles. These can be identified by size, and by showing 6 fingers, not 5 as in Buteo (Buzzards). Soars with slightly more raised wings than Buzzard.

Sound:

Most typical call a wailing, mewing "peeoooo". Quite similar to Buzzard, but the pitch falls more evenly throughout the whole call.

Alarm 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

CC-sound:Giovanni Boano, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Chocolate-brown hood in adult plumage (seemingly black at a distance), but head only with dark markings in winter and juvenile plumages. Underparts of inner primaries dark grey. First few primaries white with black tip, both on upper side of wing and under. Last character conspicuous in all plumages, but slightly less obvious in juveniles due to larger dark area of wing-tip. Slender-billed Gull and Bonaparte's Gull show similar white first primaries, but differs in long and slender head profile and white underparts of hand respectively.

Sound:

Quite vocal, especially at breeding ground. Distinct, harsh calls. A rasping "kreearr", and shorter, sharp warning calls; "kek".

Contact call:

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