Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus)
Adult male unmistakable if seen well. Body and head bright yellow, lores, wings and tail black. Females and young males less distinct, with lime-green back, pale, streaked underparts and black wings and tail. Bill quite strong with reddish colour in adults, and grey in young birds. Despite the bright plumage the bird is difficult to see due to skulking behaviour in foliage. Usually spotted when moving from tree to tree in undulating flight. Then resembles a large thrush or woodpecker, quickly darting upwards into the next tree-top.
Sound:Varied repertoire, but song and common contact call very distinct. Song a series of 1-2 seconds long phrases of 3-5 yodeling, clear, fluting notes, interspersed with 2-3 second pauses. Tone very full-bodied, melodic and pleasing. Contact call surprisingly different: A forced, drawn "weeackt", slightly resembling Jay, but less harsh, and much more nasal. Other sounds include a Wryneck-like warning call.
Contact call, song:
Distribution:
Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)
Ecology:Birdlife ecology
Links:
Observation.org Latest observations
Image search Flickr NB! May give other species
CCDark, pale and intermediate morphs. Pale birds more common in northern parts of species range, darker morphs more common further south. Elongated middle tail feathers (projection comprising about half the total tail length), but not as long as in adult Long-tailed skua. White patches at base of primaries, both on upper and underside of wings. Dark morph chocolate brown with darker hood. Pale morph with white throat and belly and incomplete breast band. Relatively marked transition from pale belly to dark vent (as opposed to Long-tailed). Size close to Common Gull. Flight powerful, elegant and falcon-like. Juveniles with short but pointed middle tail-feathers. Confusion with other juvenile skuas very likely. Differs from Long-tailed in prominent white base of most primaries on upper side of wing (not just the first few feathers). Lacks the double white patch of Pomarine Skua's underwing, and shows less contrast between back and rump. Wings broader than Long-tailed but narrower than Pomarine. Approximately equal to distance from wing rear edge to tail-tip (projections excluded).
Sound:Mostly heard at breeding ground. Most characteristic call is a mewing, kittiwake-like "aeeeee-ah". First syllable drawn-out and rising in pitch, and followed by a deeper conclusive second syllable "ah". Lacks the introductory double accent of Kittiwakes ("kitti-wake").
Alarm call/flight 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 Fernand Deroussen,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license