Appearance:

Slender and elegant bird, about the same size as Grey Heron. Bill dark in breeding birds, otherwise yellow. Legs and feet dark, but tibia often with red tinge in breeding season. Long, S-shaped neck with sharp angle/bend. Erect posture, and less skulking, horizontal hunting behaviour than Little Egret. Almost twice the size of Little Egret, and wing-beats are considerably slower. Wings give the impression of being attached more upfront than in Little E. Feets protrude well beyond tail in flight.

Sound:

Silent outside breeding ground. In colonies various harsh calls like a dry, and mechanical "kerrrrrrr", and a very nasal "geet" or "ga-geet ga-geet" are heard.

Flight 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:Lynette Rudman, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Very similar to Crested Lark, and identification can be very difficult in areas where both species occur. The much used streaked-breast character is not always relevant because of regional variations among the many subspecies of both Crested and Thekla. Then habitat, behaviour and voice becomes important for identification. A combination of the following characters should be used to tell it from Crested: Bill appears straight (because of convex lower mandible), crest fuller and not so pointed, belly less deep, back more heavily streaked , tail coverts rusty-brown in contrast to rump, underwing coverts greyish white (not rufous), upper breast with defined streaking ("done with marker pen"). Eye-stripe white behind eye. Will often perch atop of scrubs or bushes, unlike Crested, and usually prefers higher altitude habitats.

Sound:

Song: a mix of long whistling, warbling sounds, trills and mimicry. Full song very similar to Crested Lark. Rudiments of song are often heard and is less whistling than Crested. The contact call/alarm-call may be the best characteristic to separate it from Crested Lark where both species occur. Thekla Lark calls with 3-5 syllables, of which one is often drawn out and "hangs" while falling in pitch, giving it a melancholic feeling (diagnostic). The phrase has a more "bouncing" feel to it than Crested Lark.

Call and song (diagnostic call at time 08-11 sec.):

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