Great Snipe (Gallinago media)
Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra)
Underparts almost completely barred. Prominent white edges to primary and secondary coverts. Shorter bill than Common Snipe, with stockier body, but slightly longer wings and legs. Less obvious trailing white edge to secondaries in flight. Corners of tail white (obvious when landing). Usually flies only a short distance and in a straight line after being flushed. Bill held in straighter angle than Snipe in flight.
Sound:Sometimes utters a faint grunt when flushed, but is generally silent when not lekking. Display call unique: A bubbling, clappering and whistling sequence that accelerates into a crescendo followed by a decrescendo.
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
CCMedium sized diving duck. Male all black except orange spot on bill. Female dark brown with contrasting light grey cheeks. Differs from Velvet Scoter in all plumages by lack of white wing-bars, and longer tail. Birds resting on the surface characteristically bow their head when occasionally flapping the wings. Wings held tight against body when diving. Last two characters usable for identification at very long range. Also tend to stay closer together in groups than Velvet Scoter.
Sound:More vocal than other Scoters. Short, whistling sounds, sometimes reminiscent of a male teal, but a little bit deeper in pitch.
Display-call male:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCSounds:Recorded by Jarek Matusiak,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license