Appearance:

Small bustard about the seize of female pheasant. Stocky body, small head, slender neck and fairly long legs. Male: Grey head, black neck with two white rings, finely vermiculated upperparts and white underparts. Odd short p7 in male. Female lacks black neck and all upperparts are a vermiculated sandy brown. Young and non-breeding males similar to females, but often with a hint of white breast-band and more clearly defined white underparts. Told from Great Bustard in flight by clear cut black wing-tips and primary coverts in sharp contrast to white wing, and white secondaries. Flushed birds take off in noisy, grouse-like manner with rapid wing-beats and interspersed short glides on bowed wings. Longer flight with quick wing-beats mostly below level of back.

Sound:

Wings in male produces a whistling sound when flying and in display flight. Flushed birds give a hoarse grunt "ugh". Female sometimes utters e mewing "miee". Male song a short and dry "prrrt", that is far reaching. Given from ground in display in 5 - 10 seconds intervals with raised neck-feathers and jumps in the air.

Song, wing-noise:

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:Viskens Michel, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Hans Verdaat, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Viskens Michel, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Pedro N. Ramalho, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Adults in summer at close range unmistakable. Bill in juveniles almost black, and much less deep than in adults. Adults in winter plumage also show much darker bill and cheeks than in summer. At a distance head gives an all dark impression, with characteristic dark "shadow " in front of the eye. Head and bill less elongated than in other auks. Wings rounded with dark undersides. "Thighs" dark. Flight fluttering and energic, with shifting weight and angle.

Sound:

Deep, but not so coarse as Razorbill. Smoother and more gliding changes in pitch, like a "slow-motion" laugh or distant chainsaw; "aaaahrrr, aahr, ahr arh".

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

CC-photo:zanzamos, Licence,Link.

Sounds:Recorded by Hans Petter Kristoffersen,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license