Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus)
Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia)
In all plumages recognized by its long tail, call, and choice of habitat (reeds). Male unmistakable, with bluish grey head, yellow bill and black drooping moustache. Females and juveniles mostly plain, yellow-brown with whitish underparts and no moustache. Young females with dark bill, young males with yellow bill and black lore. Juveniles with black patch on back and black outer tail feathers. Flight whirring and undulated. Sometimes fans tail in flight with twisting motions.
Sound:More often heard than seen. Usually identified by contact call; a ringing, explosive "tschin" with a characteristic "dirty" timbre. Also a hard and very short "pit", often mixed with the previous. Song a primitive, 3-syllable phrase, consisting of contact call-like sounds.
Contact call:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCAnonymous, indistinct plumage and secretive behaviour makes it an easily overlooked bird (except when singing). Upperparts brown-grey, tail rufous brown. Underparts dull white. Throat with faint streaking on each side. Very similar in appearance to Nightingale, but tail is not as rufous, and contrasts more with the grayer/brownish back. Overall more drab appearance. Thrush-like behaviour despite the small size, with jumping gait, raised tail and drooping wings.
Sound:Alarm call alternates between a thin, high pitched, "piuu", and a characteristic dry, rattling, frog-like "rrrrr". Song a highly distinct mix of extremely resonant, full-bodied notes and species specific, dry, rolling, rattling sounds. Can only be confused with Nightingale, but lacks this species' interwoven series of slightly ascending, plaintive notes.
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
CC