River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis)
Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
A long-tailed and relatively long-winged Locustella, with olive-brown plumage and pale belly. Conspicuously broad, rounded tail, and substantial vent. Under tail coverts brown with with prominent pale fringes, and almost reaches tail tip. Faintly streaked throat and breast. Rump and tail warmer brown than back. Faint and short supercilium and pale eye-ring. First long primary with pale outer web, and a slight curve. Song-posts often more exposed than Grasshopper Warbler.
Sound:Song an insectlike, buzzing like Grasshopper and Savi's Warbler, but easily distinguished from those by it's distinct steam locomotive-like rhythm. About 8 accents per second. Perhaps easier to confuse with certain species of ground crickets or cicadas than it's congeners. Contact call a sharp "tsikk-tsikk", similar to Savi's Warbler.
Song:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCBulky, golden-brown heron with thick neck and short legs. Largely unmistakable but skulky behaviour makes it difficult to observe, as it generally forages hidden in reed-beds. Plumage mottled above, with coarse stripes below. Primaries and most secondaries with dark barring, in contrast to paler coverts. May recall Eagle Owl in flight with broad, rounded wings and retracted neck, but wings are bowed and legs trail behind tail. Crown and moustache stripe black in adult and brown in immature birds. Betrays its presence by it's far reaching song.
Sound:Flight call a deep croaking "graat". Song unmistakable and far reaching (up to 5 km). Pitch very deep, with timbre similar to blowing on a big empty bottle. At close range an "inbreath" is also audible (1-3 dampened, higher pitched introductory notes).
Song (note; recording not audible on small mobile devices):
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