Appearance:

Small, but bulky gull. Black hood with white crescents above and below eye, blood-red bill and legs in breeding plumage. The rest of the body seems all white at a distance. Wingtips pure white in adult birds. Chest deeper than in Black-headed gull, and wings fairly broad and rounded. In winter the black hood is largely lost, but dark streaking around, and at the back of the eye remains. Juveniles can be confused with juvenile Mew Gull (Common Gull), but note white under wing-coverts, pale grey band (greater coverts) across secondaries, black or reddish bill and more narrow terminal band of tail. Paler belly than Mew/Common Gull. Second year birds are similar to adult winter, but varying degrees of black markings remains on wing-tips.

Sound:

Distinct calls which can be identified even in mixed flocks. Most common call a short, mewing "yeah". Pitch rises and fall rapidly, with a "surprised" intonation. Timbre is nasal but clear and pure. Alarm call a series of short "ke-ke-ke", with similar timbre.

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

Creative Commons,www.xeno-canto.org,Patrik Åberg,http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Appearance:

Large and bulkily built diver with heavy bill, square head profile and steep forehead. Usually holds bill pointed straight, not uptilted like White-billed Diver. Summer: White underparts and chequered black back. Black bill and head. Neck with white band. Winter; white underparts and dark back. Neck with incomplete black band, creating contrasting, jagged edge. Heavy, goose-like flight.

Sound:

Song: Like a slow Black-throated Diver. Pitch slowly rising with a register break, progressing into a cyclic, two to four syllable, motif. Also various vibrating eerie descending calls. Often used as sound effect in horror movies.

Song:

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

CC

CC-photo:jackanapes, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:jerryoldenettel, Licence,Link.

Sounds:Recorded by Patrick Åberg,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license