Appearance:

Stocky martin with broad (but pointed) wings, broad tail and broad head. Mostly dusky brown with paler underparts, except almost black under wing-coverts, and fairly dark vent. Most tail-feathers with small, white "window" visible from below. Immature similar to adults, but with pale fringes to coverts. Flight less acrobatic than other martins, with frequent, long glides. Strays less away from breeding grounds than congeners.

Sound:

Most heard is a House Martin-like, but less rolling, "prit" or "check". Other contact sounds include a plaintive "peeuuu". Song an inconspicuous, staccato series of twittering notes, with a wagtail-like timbre.

Calls, 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

Appearance:

Bulky, 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

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-photo:littlew, Licence,Link.