Appearance:

A small, tit-like passerine with brown back, grey head and diagnostic black mask. Plumage comparable to Red-backed Shrike, but build and behaviour very different. Male with broader mask than female. Juveniles with pale, uniform plumage, lacking mask altogether. May be confused with Bearded Reedling if mask not seen, but note shorter tail with no graduation. Tit-like behaviour, but less inquisitive.

Sound:

Call a sharp clear high pitched whistle "pju-eee-uu", with the middle part accented and with a raised pitch Or just an all descending whistle "pjuuuuuuu".

Contact call:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

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

Sound recording:Recorded by Edmunds Racinskis

Appearance:

Yellow legs, black to dark grey back (regional variations) and black primaries with only small white spots. Generally more slender than Herring Gull and Great Black-backed, with longer and more narrow wings, and longer legs. Winter plumage with streaked head and neck. Underside of flight feathers smoky grey. Juveniles very variable, but generally darker than Herring Gulls. Young birds with completely dark inner primaries and broad terminal band to tail.

Sound:

Very similar to Herring Gull, but tone more nasal.

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

Sounds:Recorded by Peter Boesman,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license