Australasian Grebe - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Tom Tarrant

Tachybaptus novaehollandiae

Identification

Breeding - upperparts are dark slaty-brown to black with chestnut patch from behind auriculars down side of neck, yellow eye, and highly visible yellow subloral stribe from eye to just below the bill.

Non-breeding - throat, upper breast, and sides of neck grey-white, rest of body slightly duller than breeding plumage, bill pale, and sub-loral stripe much less obvious. This plumage is similar to but browner than the winter plumage of Hoary-headed Grebe.

Winter Plumage
Photo by TCollins
Fogg Dam, August 2008

Distribution

Australasia: found in Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, much of Indonesia, and some pacific islands.

Taxonomy

Juvenile
Photo by Birdeye
Victor Harbor, South Australia, January 2007

Subspecies^[2]:

Seven subspecies are recognized:

• T. n. novaehollandiae:

• Timor (eastern Lesser Sundas), southern New Guinea to Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand

• T. n. leucosternos:

• Vanuatu and New Caledonia

• T. n. rennellianus:

• Rennell (Solomon Islands)

• T. n. javanicus:

• Java

• T. n. fumosus:

• Sangihi Island and Talaud Islands (off north-eastern Sulawesi)

• T. n. incola:

• Northern New Guinea

Habitat

Fresh water lakes, ponds, farm dams, and slowmoving rivers, all with plentyfull vegetation; in winter also on more open waters.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes small fish and water insects.

Breeding

It builds a nest which is a floating mound of vegetation, normally anchored to a submerged branch or reed. Pale blue eggs are laid and are incubated and cared for by both parents. The chicks can swim from birth. There can be three successive broods in a season.

References

1. Pizzey, G. & Knight, F. 1997. Birds of Australia (Collins Field Guide). HarperCollins Publishers, London. ISBN 0-00-220132-1
2. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Australasian Grebe. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Australasian_Grebe

External Links

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