Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
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.
Summer plumage: Warm, rufous brown below like Knot, but much smaller. Bill curved and much longer, and appearance more long-legged. Winter and juvenile plumage grey above and pale below. Differs from Dunlin in slightly longer legs and bill, more pronounced supercilium, no black patches on belly (some rufous summer feathers may show when moulting) and more upright stance. Juveniles with buff-pinkish tone to breast, and scaly upperparts. Always distinct in all plumages when flying, due to bright white and crescent-shaped rump-patch.
Sound:Flight call a soft, ringing and rolling "krrrrrt, with variations. Lacks the hoarse, nasal quality of similar call by Dunlin.
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
CCCC-photo:Agustín Povedano, Licence,Link.
CC-photo:Ian N. White, Licence,Link.
Sounds:Creative Commons,www.xeno-canto.org ,Albert Lastukhin,http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/