White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus)
Grey and white wagtail with prominent black markings on head and breast. British Isles subspecies M.a.yarreli (Pied Wagtail) with black back, and M.a.alba (continental) with grey back. Only faint black markings on head in juveniles and in winter plumage, but always shows big dark breast patch. Unmistakable in breeding plumage. Pale individuals of Yellow Wagtail and Citrine Wagtail, differs in lacking large breast patch, and in contact call.
Sound:Contact calls short and sharp. Usually with disyllabic, "bouncing" quality, and with each syllable only accented, not clearly separated from the other (see Grey Wagtail). Song either slow and primitive, consisting of sharp falling notes given by perched birds, or longer fast and energic bursts in excited song-flight.
Song/contact 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
CCEurope's biggest raptor. All dark vulture with short, wedge-shaped tail and very long and broad wings. Legs pale, and usually readily visible. May resemble White-tailed Eagle or Greater Spotted Eagle at distance, but note short neck, less protruding head, even longer and broader wings, and shorter tail. Under wing-coverts darker than flight-feathers. Trailing edge of wing fairly straight compared to S-shaped edge in Griffon Vulture, making the overall wing-shape more squarish. This is most obvious when soaring on stretched wings. Soars with wings leveled, not raised, often with hand lowered. Frequently raises tail just before landing.
Sound:Voice little used but varied. Grunts,croaking, mewing, hissing etc. heard when breeding or feeding at carcasses.
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