Appearance:

Male shiny black with bright yellow bill and yellow eye-ring. Female dark brown above. Throat and chest in slightly paler tones with diffuse dark spots. Juveniles similar to females, but with fine buff streaking all over. More long-tailed than Redwing and Song Thrush. Flight action with alternating bursts of wing-beats and with little undulation (see Fieldfare).

Sound:

One of the most appreciated song birds. Very melodious and resonant, with long mellow notes and a large register. Less high pitched sounds than Song Thrush, and seldom repeats a phrase. Timbre fuller than both Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush. Well defined pauses between phrases, giving the song a relaxed pace. Large repertoire of calls. Most characteristic is a hysterical rattle often given when flushed. Sometimes preceded by a hard "tok tok", which then accelerates into a panicky arpeggio-like crescendo. Contact call a thin redwing-like "srrreee". Alarm calls: a sharp "tink, tink" or a very high pitch falling whistle.

Alarm call, song:

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

Appearance:

Unmistakable, except in areas where it coexists with Short-toed Treecreeper. Differs from said species in pure white flanks (sub-species macrodactyla has faintly buff flanks but not as marked as in Short-toed), shorter and only moderately curved bill, hind-claw as long as hind-toe and "notched" wing-bar (uneven "steps"). Tips of primaries with buffish/white tips/fringes extending along inner web. Mostly distinguished from Short-toed by call, and identification exclusively by plumage characters difficult in areas where both species occur.

Sound:

Contact call a drawn, high-pitched "tzreeee". Similar to Goldcrest in timbre, but of longer duration with a vibrating and slightly rolling tone. Generally repeated in evenly paced, slow series (unlike Goldcrest). Song a short, continuous three-part phrase. Each phrase starts with a few contact call-like notes followed by a Willow Warbler-like descending part, which then jumps to a few descending high notes to form a marked conclusion. Note that "mixed singers" are not uncommon in areas where both species of treecreepers occur.

Song:

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