Appearance:

Hawk-like, partly diurnal owl with long tail and barred underparts. Plumage gives black and white impression. White face framed in bold, vertical black stripes. Eyes bright yellow. Wings fairly short, but not rounded. Tail long and graded. Flight pattern hawk-like, with rapid series of bursting wing-beats followed by glides. Often perched in the open, exposed in tree-tops.

Sound:

Seldom heard outside breeding ground. Alarm call a sharp, merlin-like "kwitt kwitt kwitt", or "ki-ki-ki". Song a 10 second rapid pulse of shivering notes with a bubbling quality. Rising slightly in pitch and then slowly falling.

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-sound:Eero Pätsi, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Unmistakable. Only black and white passerine of it's size in Europe. Short rounded wings and exceptionally long tail. Wings fan-shaped and tail graded. Tail constitutes about half of the total length in adult birds. Compact body but relatively long legs. Flat crown. White wing patches/flight feathers very conspicuous in flight.

Sound:

Most notable sound a harsh, chattering "chechechecheche" used as warning call, or when mobbing predators. Rich repertoire includes soft and surprisingly varied sub-song.

Alarm 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