Appearance:

Adults with white front of head reaching crown, black markings on belly and obvious, swollen yellow eye-ring. Juveniles lacks white forehead and black markings on belly. The yellow eye-ring is also less noticeable. Note that White-fronted Goose may also show faint eye-ring, limited belly-markings and extended white front to head. Leaves a more "pure" impression than White-fronted, with evenly coloured plumage, rounded body, short neck, short bill and steep forehead. Primaries are longer than in other geese, and may extend past tail.

Sound:

Contact call a characteristic, trisyllabic, yelping "ka-dyl-lyt". First syllable often with a goose-like timbre, and second and third a continuous clearer sound, with a rapid lowering of pitch between syllables. Much higher pitched than other grey geese.

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

CC

CC-photo:Stefan Berndtsson, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Sibylle Stofer, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Fenners1984, Licence,Link.

CC-sound:Antero Lindholm. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/243944.

Appearance:

Only likely to be confused with other pratincoles, but diagnostic field marks often difficult to see. Differs from Collared Pratincole by black underwing and lack of white trailing edge to upperwing (both characters requires good light). Tail streamers shorter than wing-tips and base of bill with less red (in breeding plumage). Build slightly stockier than Collared Pratincole, with longer legs. Lore and forehead often darker. Sexes alike. Lacks black necklace in winter plumage. Immature birds are similar to winter-plumaged adults, but with additional scaly upperparts. A third species, Oriental Pratincole, is a rare vagrant with rufous underwing, no wing-bar, and even shorter tail.

Sound:

Also see Collared Pratincole. Differs from latter by the hard parts being dryer, more clicking and staccato, while the more melodic components are more mewing. Like with Collared Pratincole beware confusion risk with Little Tern, which is similar in timbre.

Various calls:

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

CC

CC-sound:Vladimir Arkhipov, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Ignaas Robbe, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:maholyoak, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Lars Buckx, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Hilde Ham, Licence,Link.