Appearance:

Unmistakable in summer with almost all black plumage. White oval wing-patches in all plumages. Only auk with white wing-panels. Bill quite slender and pointed, body and wings rounded. Winter plumage blotched in grey and white, with dark wings (with white coverts). Typically scans for food by frequently dipping forehead in the water.

Sound:

Call surprisingly high pitched. Quite pure, drawn out, plaintive whistling notes in same pitch range as Hazel Grouse.

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

Sounds:Recorded by David Farrow. http://www.xeno-canto.org .CC license

Appearance:

A dark, often secretive, wader. Quite similar to Wood Sandpiper, but differs in dark underwings, only small white spots on back, defined border between speckled chest and white belly, broad dark markings on tail and a supercilium that does not reach behind eye. Leaves an overall much darker impression than Wood Sandpiper. Particularly in flight.

Sound:

Totally different from Wood Sandpiper. Sharp, penetrating calls. Display call a high-pitched "kee-kleeoo-eet", continuously repeated with a wave-like motion in pitch. Other common calls have similar timbre and tone with different phrasing like; "klooeett -klee-klee-klee-klee-klee" and a rising pitch.

Flight 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

CC-sound:Peter Boesman, Licence,Link.