Appearance:

A small, elegant diving duck with highly variable looks depending on sex and time of year. Several moults with transitional plumages. Males with long, pointed tail and pink banded bill in most plumages. Females with grey bill. In all plumages note: small head, steep forehead and short bill with high base. Wings always all dark (also underside). Only diving duck with dark wings and light body. Flies with wings hardly raised above horizontal plane on upstroke.

Sound:

Very vocal and distinct. Male: a pleasant resonant melodic "ahh-aaooee" in a yodeling, breaking triad. Starting with an accented first note (ahh), then gliding from first through second and third note (-aaoooeee). Far carrying. Female: calls often, but less musical and distinct than male.

Male song:

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 Ian Cruickshank,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

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