Appearance:

Very large tern, with deep, dagger-like, blood-red bill with dark tip. Large, black cap reaching well below the eyes. Grey upperparts and white underparts. Rather short tail. Outer primaries distinctly darker than the rest of upperwing, and outer underwing almost black. Unmistakable from the size alone, and leaves a gull-like impression, lacking the elegance of smaller terns. Immatures with paler bill and white forehead (as in adult winter), and markedly speckled back. Hovers and dives. Often rests on the surface, feeding like a gull.

Sound:

Easily recognized by its very harsh calls. Sometimes likened to the sound of a plate of steel being dragged across a concrete floor. Similar in harshness to Grey Heron, but more drawn, with an accented middle; "Kraaeeet", or with a double syllable start "ka-ha-kraaaeet". Immature birds begs with a penetrating, sharp whistle.

Contact call:

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

CC

CC-photo:lgooch, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Muchaxo, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:ajmatthehiddenhouse, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Orange legs and all pink bill without markings. Adults with white bill base and black markings on belly. Juveniles lacking those characters. Body shape and head more angular than other geese. Could be confused with Lesser White-fronted Goose, but Lesser have an obvious yellow eye-ring, and much more white around bill base. Wings more narrow than other grey geese.

Sound:

Similar to Bean- and Greylag Goose, but higher pitched, more musical, often disyllabic and with a laughing quality. Far from as high pitched as Lesser White-fronted Goose.

Contact call:

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 Volker Arnold,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license