Appearance:

Largest rail in VP. Clearly bigger than coot, and almost twice the size of Moorhen. Generally unmistakable with its dark, violet blue plumage, long, robust legs and heavy bill. Under tail coverts white. Red frontal shield and bill, pinkish red legs. Immature birds with duller coloured legs, duller plumage and faintly greyish/whitish underparts. Trailing legs obvious in flight. Swims readily.

Sound:

Rich repertiore and very vocal. Sounds range from soft, mewing and laughing to hard, extremely shrill trills. Generally louder, and shriller than congeners. Often merges into, or starts with diagnostic, extremely hard trill "krrrrriiit".

Contact 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

Featherbase

CC

Appearance:

Slender and elegant harrier, with narrow wings and four "fingers". Adult male easily recognized by very pale grey and white plumage, with diagnostic wedge-shaped, black wing-tips (outermost primary grey). Female and immature birds often difficult to tell from Montagu's Harrier and Hen Harrier. Adult female differs from Montagu's by lack of dark band on upper wing, and by diffuse, sooty inner underwing. Pale bands do not reach wingpit, and under coverts are darker. Differs from female Hen Harrier by noticeably slimmer wings (both hand and arm) and only 4 fingers (but beware moulting Hen Harriers). Immature similar to Montagu's with unstreaked, rufous underparts. Differs in pale tips of inner primaries, and dark half-collar and pale "boa".

Sound:

Some calls similar to Montagu's and Hen Harrier, but display call quite diagnostic. A thin, vibrating trill "peerrrrrrrr".

Display 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-sound:Thijs Fijen, Licence,Link.