Appearance:

Largely unmistakable. Pale pinkish brown. Wings dark with white and blue patches. Tail black and rump white (conspicuous in flight). Crown speckled in black. Striking black moustache stripe. Flight pattern straight and fluttering like Nutcracker, but tail longer and bill shorter.

Sound:

Large repertoire. Most heard call a short, drawn and very hoarse, raspy sound, often given in quick successions. Also a Buzzard-like, mewing "peeeaaa" (more drawn and less full tone than Siberian Jay). Quiet and varied subsong with mimicry, resembling a small passerine heard from both sexes. Many other social sounds.

Alarm:

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

Appearance:

Europe'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

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

CC