Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
Western Orphean Warbler (Curruca hortensis)
White rump and orange buff chest in all plumages. Breeding males with shiny black head and back. Females and winter plumage appears very speckled/mottled, especially in flight. Tail slightly shorter than Chaffinch, more deeply forked and almost black. Bullfinch and Goldfinch both have white rump, but Brambling is easily distinguished from these by the double wing-bars. Flight undulated and bouncing.
Sound:Large repertoire of mostly characteristic sounds. Contact calls include a short, nasal, ascending "keeaa", a short high-pitched, piercing "tzeet" and a linnet-like "chepp". Song very distinct; a soft, wheezing, drawn-out single note. Repeated at the same pitch in a monotonous manner. May be mistaken for Greenfinch, but note softer timbre and stable pitch throughout the call.
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
CCSounds: www.xeno-canto.org,Terje Kolaas,http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Large Sylvia with dark hood and pale iris (adult birds). Lacks red orbital ring of Sardinian Warbler. Tertials and coverts without pale fringes. Very similar to Eastern Orphean Warbler (S. crassirostris), but generally the distribution of the two do not overlap. Typical birds also show some differences in plumage like; no dark centres to under tail coverts and warm buff underparts, flanks and vent (variable). The border between the dark hood and grey neck is more diffuse, the back is browner and the bill slightly shorter. Young vagrants with poorly developed characters may be inseparable from S. crassirostris by appearance. Both species differ from Lesser Whitethroat by; stronger bill, no white crescents around eye and darker upper tail. Movements less agile than smaller congeners.
Sound:Alarm call a short and sharp "tek" recalling Blackcap, often given in series. Also a dry, rasping "turrrr". Both calls are more or less identical to S. crassirostris. Song much more different from latter, but timbre of fluting sounds is similar, recalling that of Blue Rock Thrush. Overall the song is simpler than S. crassirostris, with shorter phrases, longer pauses and a more restricted register. Motifs consists largely of pleasant fluting, often dominated by alternation between two notes, and are often repeated with small variations.
Song:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CC