Appearance:

Small and compact auk. Bill short and blunt, tail and wings short. Scapular feathers with characteristic white brims. Differs from young Puffin by white "thighs", white throat and only faint neck collar (in winter). Often difficult to spot when swimming in waves, and more often seen when flying. Take-off from water surface easy and direct. Flight less constricted than larger auks, and changes direction frequently and with ease.

Sound:

Voice higher pitched than other auks (except Black Guillemot). Trilling, rolling and chattering laughter "kreeee he he he he", or shorter, softer utterances; "ke ke" or "hup hup".

Contact call:

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

Sounds:Recorded by Stein Ø. Nilsen,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license

Appearance:

Large and athletic falcon. Adults slate-grey above. Underparts white with black barring. Head almost black. Juveniles with brown tone to plumage, coarse longitudinal streaking below and paler head. Differs from the smaller falcons by less pointed wings, heavier hips and short tail. Highly contrasting and broad moustache-stripe. Smaller than Gyrfalcon with a more compact silhouette. The wings are not as broad, and belly not as deep. Underside of wings evenly barred, without contrasting coverts. Flight-pattern can recall Fulmar, with shallow, stiff wing-action.

Sound:

A harsh, drawn out "kiaaaa" with emphasised endings repeated in series. Much slower than Merlin, but higher pitched than Gyrfalcon. Also shorter, coarse warning-calls.

Alarm 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 Jarek Matusiak,http://www.xeno-canto.org ,CC license