Appearance:

Forked and fairly long tail. Clearly bigger than Storm Petrel, with more slender appearance and longer wings. Generally not as black, and shows brownish tone to plumage. The white rump patch is oval, has a weak grey center stripe, and does not reach as far down on the sides as in Storm Petrel. Light grey upper greater coverts form a wing-band. Underside of wings all dark. Flight pattern variable, with frequent changes in direction and speed. Sometimes glides like a shearwater but at other times shows surprisingly deep wing-beats. Does not patter surface, but will rest on water. Visits breeding ground only at night, and is usually only seen after storms.

Sound:

Only calls at breeding ground. A series of accentuated cooing, interrupted by a squeaky "inbreath" and a loud, absurd, fanfare-like "kaaa-ka-ka-kaaa-ka".

Calls:

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-sound:Steph, Licence,Link.

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