Appearance:

Hard to distinguish from Guillemot, especially at a distance. Bill heavier, shorter, less pointed and with lateral white stripe at base (not obvious at a distance). Flanks lacks Guillemot's streaking, and armpits are white. Upperparts blacker, without brownish tones. Tail shorter than razorbill, with protruding feet in flight. Only lower cheeks white in winter, with the area behind the eye being black (white in both Guillemot and Razorbill). Pointed (not rounded) white wedge protruding from front of chest to lower throat. Neck, head and bill, heavier than in Guillemot, but more slender than Razorbill. Bill often tilted downwards in flight.

Sound:

Coarse and deep voice, like a cross between Guillemot and Razorbill. Coarser than Guillemot but with the same laughing ending, but slower.

Contact 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

CC

CC-sounds:,www.xeno-canto.org,Andrew Spencer,http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Appearance:

Adults differ from most other waders by bright red legs. Large white rectangular patches on secondaries conspicuous in flight in all plumages. Spotted redshanks in winter- or juvenile plumage lacks white wing bars, are more elegant with a more slender bill, and shows a stronger dark eyestripe and white supercilium. Juvenile Redshanks are unevenly, and sparsely spotted below from the legs to the vent, as opposed to the barring of juvenile Spotted Redshanks. Leg colour in juveniles often dull yellowish. Flanks evenly spotted. Winter plumage with brownish upperparts.

Sound:

Generally a noisy and loud bird, especially at breeding ground. Most heard is a characteristic "tew-hoo", or "tew-hoo-hoo" with first syllable accentuated. No gap between the syllables like Greenshank, and usually with a marked falling pitch. Song similar to Wood Sandpiper, but with three accented notes in each cycle, not two.

Flight/contact 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