Appearance:

Adults at close range unmistakable with their striking pink and shiny black plumage and crest. In flight note the pale back in contrast to the black head and wings. Head profile quite different from Starling. Bill considerably shorter and slightly down-curved. Forehead flatter and head more rounded when crest is not erect. Immature birds more anonymous, with brownish upperparts, pale belly and darker brown wings with pale fringed coverts and flight feathers. Bill yellowish with darker tip and legs flesh coloured. Very gregarious and immature vagrants usually seeks company with European Starling. Then easily spotted as a much paler bird. Especially the rump stands out in flight. European Starling sometimes show pale plumage but can then be identified by bill shape. Forages with less rapid head movements than ES.

Sound:

Starling-like timbre, higher pitched and not so harsh as E. Starling. At the same time less musical with few pure notes. Song consist mostly of short and sharp "veet" and various thin, noisy whistles, delivered in accelerating bursts reminiscent of Barn Swallow or E. Starling. Often perceived more like a constant din from roosting flocks.

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

CC-sound:Thijs Fijen, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Unmistakable. Extremely long tail and short wings. Fluttering and undulating flight, with peculiar silhouette like a small ball with a long tail. Head of Northern Europe sub.sp. completely white. Continental and British birds with broad, dark supercilium. Juveniles head dark with white crown and throat. Always active and on the move in small groups.

Sound:

Song: Rapid, continuous, randomly composed sequence of bubbling,chirping sounds. Call: quite short, chirping, twittering "tzzirrret tzirrrret". Often starting at high pitch and rapidly falling, or just flat. Also a thin, slightly falling "zi zi ziii".

Contact call:

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