Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)
Largely unmistakable. Male almost pure white with black dots. Female and juveniles white with heavy black barring, and may seem grey at a distance. Juveniles more finely barred than adult females, giving them a greyer appearance, with white neck and face. Body barrel-shaped, head small and rounded. Wing-tips more pointed than in other owls. Flight action both buzzard and owl-like, with surprising agility. Note that several species of owls may seem completely white to the untrained eye when suddenly appearing in car headlights etc.
Sound:Song consists of single utterances or series of "aooo", recalling Great Black-backed Gull, and is far carrying. Male warning call a deep and harsh "groat grat grat", with accented endings of each syllable. Female warning call higher pitched. Also various other high pitched calls.
Alarm call:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCCC-sound:Niels Krabbe, Licence,Link.
Can only be confused with other phalaropes, due to swimming behaviour. Juveniles and winter plumage birds can be mistaken for Red Phalarope, but bill is much more needle-like and neck and body more slender. Juvenile birds with prominent buff stripes on back, and first winter birds with dark fore-crown (see Red Phalarope). Adult winter with white stripes on back, as opposed to Red Phalarope's uniformly grey back.
Sound:Short and sharp "teck", sometimes repeated to form trilling series. Also a mewing, nasal "veeoo".
Contact call:
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 Patrik Åberg,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license