Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Large and bulky warbler with long tail, heavy, thrush-like bill and relatively strong facial markings. Supercilium broad and strong and continues behind eye. Lores dark. Primary projection same length as tertials. Flanks warm beige. Crest often raised. Flight heavy and jerky, and birds are also much more detectable by moving reeds when foraging about in vegetation than congeners. In the Middle East be aware of confusion species Clamorous Reed Warbler and Basra Reed Warbler.
Sound:Contact call a grating, dry "kirrrat", where each rolling r is discernable. Song similar to Reed Warbler in timbre, but much deeper and slower. Fairly concise motifs typically consisting of two deep mono- or disyllabic notes followed by a few higher tones. I.e: "kerek kerek, trii trii trii". Clamorous Reed Warbler differs in more diffuse motifs.
Song:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCSound recording:Recorded by Edmunds Racinskis
Differs from Arctic Tern in longer head, and more orangy red, rather than deep red, bill. Tip of bill usually black. Legs longer, but tail streamers shorter than AT. Underparts of primaries with diffusely bordered dark trailing edge (sharply bordered in Arctic Tern). Upper side of primaries with dark wedge (less apparent in winter). Secondaries opaque. Crest more apparent than in Arctic Tern and underside whiter. Juveniles with buff back.
Sound:Similar to Arctic Tern but deeper. Lacks latter's high pitched "tip-tip-tip" call, and the drawn out "kree-aaahh" call falls more distinctly in pitch.
Call:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CC