Appearance:

A small, tit-like passerine with brown back, grey head and diagnostic black mask. Plumage comparable to Red-backed Shrike, but build and behaviour very different. Male with broader mask than female. Juveniles with pale, uniform plumage, lacking mask altogether. May be confused with Bearded Reedling if mask not seen, but note shorter tail with no graduation. Tit-like behaviour, but less inquisitive.

Sound:

Call a sharp clear high pitched whistle "pju-eee-uu", with the middle part accented and with a raised pitch Or just an all descending whistle "pjuuuuuuu".

Contact call:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

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

Sound recording:Recorded by Edmunds Racinskis

Appearance:

Male: Charcoal to black plumage, with rufous red tail, pale belly and pale wing-panel (south-eastern subspecies with rufous belly and no wing-panel). Female: Grey brown overall, except rufous tail. Lacks the orange tinge to breast and belly of female Common Redstart. Juveniles resembles the adult female, and lacks the buff speckles of congeners. May jump around on the ground like CR, but are more prone to run. Also shows a more erect posture.

Sound:

Song consists of three parts and is distinct if heard well. It opens with some clear notes that may form a trill, which are then followed by a pause. Next part is rather unique, and sounds as if shaking a handful of gravel. The phrase then usually closes with a couple of trills. The "gravel-part" does not carry as far as the rest of the song. Alarm call is a chat-like alternation between short, high-pitched "wit" sounds, and series of hard and dry "teck".

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