Appearance:

Bulky, golden-brown heron with thick neck and short legs. Largely unmistakable but skulky behaviour makes it difficult to observe, as it generally forages hidden in reed-beds. Plumage mottled above, with coarse stripes below. Primaries and most secondaries with dark barring, in contrast to paler coverts. May recall Eagle Owl in flight with broad, rounded wings and retracted neck, but wings are bowed and legs trail behind tail. Crown and moustache stripe black in adult and brown in immature birds. Betrays its presence by it's far reaching song.

Sound:

Flight call a deep croaking "graat". Song unmistakable and far reaching (up to 5 km). Pitch very deep, with timbre similar to blowing on a big empty bottle. At close range an "inbreath" is also audible (1-3 dampened, higher pitched introductory notes).

Song (note; recording not audible on small mobile devices):

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:littlew, 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