Appearance:

Easily confused with Whooper Swan, but yellow on bill restricted to a rounded patch. May sometimes extend towards the bill-tip, but never beyond nostrils. Angle of mouth bold black. Gives a more compact impression than Whooper, due to shorter neck. Head shape noticeably more rounded, and seemingly larger. Juveniles paler grey than Whooper, with the same bill pattern as in adults, but in faint, pale yellow and pink. Flight easy and goose-like.

Sound:

More vocal than other swans. Both higher pitched and deeper sounds. Birds on the water often gives crooning, crane-like notes with less defined pitch. Tone is less full-bodied in these calls. Flight call a deep, yelping, soft barking sound. Each call short, with a "helpless" quality.

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:Peter Boesman, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Most likely to be confused with Bar-tailed Godwit, but easily recognized in flight by its contrasting black and white wings and tail. More difficult to identify when not flying. Generally much leggier, more elegant and upright than Bar-tailed, and with straighter bill. Tibia especially long. Summer plumage with barred/spotted belly (never in Bar-tailed), and orange base of bill. Juveniles with scaled back, not arrow-shaped streaking. Adult winter with mainly uniformly grey plumage, and short supercilium not reaching behind the eye.

Sound:

Quite vocal at breeding ground, but mostly silent elsewhere. Varied repertoire of mewing and sharp sounds, some resembling Bar-tailed, some almost lapwing-like. Most characteristic call is the display call; a sharp and mewing, rhythmic "kew-ku-weeewee". Generally the calls are evenly accentuated (as opposed to Bar-tailed).

Display call and contact calls:

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

Featherbase

CC

Sounds:Recorded by Patrick Åberg,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license