Appearance:

Slender and elegant bird, about the same size as Grey Heron. Bill dark in breeding birds, otherwise yellow. Legs and feet dark, but tibia often with red tinge in breeding season. Long, S-shaped neck with sharp angle/bend. Erect posture, and less skulking, horizontal hunting behaviour than Little Egret. Almost twice the size of Little Egret, and wing-beats are considerably slower. Wings give the impression of being attached more upfront than in Little E. Feets protrude well beyond tail in flight.

Sound:

Silent outside breeding ground. In colonies various harsh calls like a dry, and mechanical "kerrrrrrr", and a very nasal "geet" or "ga-geet ga-geet" are heard.

Flight call:

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

CC-sound:Lynette Rudman, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Small owl with large, square head and spotted upperparts. Eyes bright yellow and facial disks white. "Astonished" expression. Size approximates that of Little Owl, but appears more bulky. Head much larger than in Pygmy Owl, and flight pattern includes interspersed glides without bounding. Seldom seen in the open.

Sound:

Song consists of fast series of fairly deep whistling notes "po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po", slightly ascending in pitch, and descending in the last few syllables. Phrase includes up to 25 units. Other calls include a drawn-out, squeaky "kweeat" and some peculiar, explosive sounds with an almost "electronic" quality.

Song:

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

CC-photo:Stefan Berndtsson, Licence,Link,