Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes)
Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)
Largely unmistakable. Chocolate brown body with small white dots. Wings and crown dark brown without spots. Tail dark with broad white edges/corners. Vent shiny white. Recognizable at long distance when in flight, by its peculiar flight pattern and profile. Fluttering, "inefficient" wing beats, short tail, long bill and often a throat bulging with seeds.
Sound:Fairly silent. Warning call a characteristic dry and rasping "karrr karrr karr" in even pitch. Song a quiet improvisation of whistling and clappering sounds, interspersed with mimicry of other birds.
Alarm call:
Distribution:
Xeno-canto: map
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCMost 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
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCSounds:Recorded by Patrick Åberg,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license