Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)
An elegant, long-legged, black and white wader with a long, upcurved bill. Plumage mainly white, with black wing-tips, coverts, crown and hind-neck. Pretty unmistakable. Confusion with Crab Plover or Juvenile Shelduck possible at very long range. Flight pattern even and mostly without glides.
Sound:Not very vocal away from breeding ground. Most common contact call a soft, short "kluitt" reminiscent of Ringed Plover, but harder and less varied. Also sometimes followed by repeated chattering: "kluitt-trt-trt-trt-trt-trt-trt".
Contact call:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCLargely unmistakable. Male almost pure white with black dots. Female and juveniles white with heavy black barring, and may seem grey at a distance. Juveniles more finely barred than adult females, giving them a greyer appearance, with white neck and face. Body barrel-shaped, head small and rounded. Wing-tips more pointed than in other owls. Flight action both buzzard and owl-like, with surprising agility. Note that several species of owls may seem completely white to the untrained eye when suddenly appearing in car headlights etc.
Sound:Song consists of single utterances or series of "aooo", recalling Great Black-backed Gull, and is far carrying. Male warning call a deep and harsh "groat grat grat", with accented endings of each syllable. Female warning call higher pitched. Also various other high pitched calls.
Alarm call:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCCC-sound:Niels Krabbe, Licence,Link.