Appearance:

Europe's biggest raptor. All dark vulture with short, wedge-shaped tail and very long and broad wings. Legs pale, and usually readily visible. May resemble White-tailed Eagle or Greater Spotted Eagle at distance, but note short neck, less protruding head, even longer and broader wings, and shorter tail. Under wing-coverts darker than flight-feathers. Trailing edge of wing fairly straight compared to S-shaped edge in Griffon Vulture, making the overall wing-shape more squarish. This is most obvious when soaring on stretched wings. Soars with wings leveled, not raised, often with hand lowered. Frequently raises tail just before landing.

Sound:

Voice little used but varied. Grunts,croaking, mewing, hissing etc. heard when breeding or feeding at carcasses.

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

CC

Appearance:

Summer: Red throat (seemingly black at a distance!). Lacks white vertical framing of throat patch and white spotted back of Black-throated Diver. Winter: Quite pale. White face and eye-ring. Just a narrow stripe of dark grey along the back of the neck. In all plumages best identified by posture and silhouette, especially when seen at a distance. Slender neck, head and bill. Flat chest. Usually shows no white flank patch. Bill usually held uptilted.

Sound:

In flight; nasal, dry, gooselike series of rhythmic cackling "ko-ko-ko". Most vocal when courting and breeding. A meowing drawn-out sound starting with a register break, then falling in pitch. Display call a far reaching rolling cyclic cooing, given in long sequences.

Song/display:

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:Lauri Hallikainen, Licence,Link.