Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Curlew (Numenius arquata)
Medium sized diving duck. Male with rufous brown head and pale grey body. Female indistinctly coloured in grey and brown, with diffuse head markings. Easiest identified by fairly distinct head profile; long bill continuous with sloping forehead, ending in peaked crown (both sexes). Bulky body and short neck. Both sexes with long, pale grey wing-bars. Juveniles like female, except body warmer brown.
Sound:Female: a coarse "ahrrrrrrr-ahrrrrr-ahrrrr" with a vibrating quality. Male courting call a pleasant, drawn out, nasal whistle "tweeeeep", rising in pitch, often followed by a falling "puuuh" (e.g a long disyllabic tweeepuuuuuuh). Also a sharper "ki-ki-ki" or "ki-ki-kiko".
Display 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
CCBiggest wader in area. Differs from Whimbrel in longer bill with a more even curve, only diffuse head markings without crown stripes or marked eye-stripe. Note that young Curlews have much shorter bill than adults. Base of bill pinkish. Plumage gives a paler impression than Whimbrel, with paler underwings and flanks.
Sound:Song starts similar to Whimbrel, with long wailing notes "kluuueee", but takes on a different ending as it accelerates to an ascending phrase repeated in rapid cycles .
Song:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CC