Appearance:

Heaviest bird in area. Stocky with well developed chest. Male 50% larger than female. Mostly unmistakable, and differs from all other bustards in area in all plumages by pale, grey head (yellowish grey in female), clearly paler than the rufous upperparts and lower neck. Male with thick neck, rufous chest and long moustache feathers. Female with more slender neck and duller colours. In flight the big white wing-patch is conspicuous. Base of hand pale with smooth transition to dark tips. Secondaries black. When displaying the male raises wings and body feathers to a "foam-bath" posture with head held low, like a white ball of feathers. Flight heavy but majestic. Shy and alert bird.

Sound:

Mostly silent, especially away from breeding ground. Display call a short deep, hollow thud "omp", using resonating gular pouch. Most heard is a nasal grunt used in various types of excitement. Sometimes given in a flatulent series.

Excitement 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

CC-photo:cruzperezmanuel, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Viskens Michel, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Paul Dirksen, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Sergey Yeliseev, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Cora de Groot en Ruud Versijde, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Unmistakable in breeding plumage, with all dark/blackish body unique among Tringas. Most birds seen in Europe will probably be in winter- or juvenile plumage, and can then be mistaken for Redshanks. Spotted Redshanks are slimmer, longer legged and more elegant than Redshanks. The supercilium is much more prominent, the bill is slimmer and longer. Most diagnostic is the lack of white wing-bars, and the white sigar-shaped patch on the back. The barring in juveniles reaches from the belly and all the way back to the vent. Often feeds in deeper water than Redshanks, even by swimming and upending.

Sound:

Flight call loud and diagnostic, and is often the first sign of the species' presence; a sharp and short, disyllabic "koo-eett", with the first syllable falling in pitch and the second rising sharply. Display call a squeaky, but melodic "krroo-lee-ooo" repeated in cycles. Alarm call a falcon-like "ke-ke-ke-ke".

Flight calll, song:

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

Sounds:Recorded by Stein Ø. Nilsen,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license