Black-necked Grebe

Alternative name: Eared Grebe

Podiceps nigricollis

Breeding plumage. Photo by martinuk

Non-breeding plumage. Photo by: nomdeploom
Location: Patagonia Lake, Arizona, USA

Identification

L. 28-34cm
Ws. 57cm

• Medium-sized grebe

Adult Breeding: *Blackish above; browner towards rump *Black breast, head and neck *Flanks mottled rufous and black *Slight crest *Tuft of golden-yellow *Extends from eye and droops down over ear coverts *Red iris *Black bill *Blackish-grey legs

Adult Non-breeding: *Dull grey-brown and white *Appears black and white from a distance *Dark crown extends well below eye level and merges with grey ear coverts

Juvenile: Resemble non-breeding adult, but browner with cheeks tinged buff

Similar Species: Similar to Slavonian Grebe.

Flight: Upperwing shows broad white trailing edge to secondaries but lacks white of forewing base seen in Slavonian.

At all seasons slightly upturned bill distinguishes from Slavonian and in non-breeding plumage the more diffuse border between dark and light on head is useful.

Dark of crown extends to well below level of eye and merges with grey ear-coverts thus less clearly demarcated compared to Slavonian.

Distribution

Widespread in the both the Old and New Worlds but with a more southerly range than that of Slavonian Grebe P. auritus. Migratory in northern parts of range.

North America: Breeds from southern British Columbia east to southern Manitoba and south to Baja California and southern Texas.

South America: Range very restricted and found only on mountain lakes in the Andes north ofBogota, Colombia.

Europe: Highly discontinuous breeding range but small populations persist in many Central and Eastern European countries. Largely absent from the north and west but there are small populations in Britain, central and eastern France, Belgium and central and southern Spain. Main range extends from Denmark and eastern Germany eastwards to the southern Urals and Caspian. Patchy range in the south-east with scattered populations in the Balkans and Turkey.

Asia: Range extends east to Central Asia and also breeds in eastern China and the Russian Far East.

Africa: Range also very patchy in Africa mainly in the east and south with breeding probable in Ethiopia and Kenya, Angola, Namibia and South Africa.

Winters in the Americas on the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California, across the southern USA from California to Texas and south to Guatemala.

Main wintering range in Europe lies from southern Britain and the Netherlands south to Biscay and around much of the Mediterranean and Turkey. In recent decades has begun to winter regularly in the Canary Islands.

Vagrants recorded in Norway and Finland and south to the Azores and Madeira.

Taxonomy

Four subspecies are recognised. Race californicus occurs in North America and andinus in Colombia, nominate race in Eurasia and gurneyi in sub-Saharan Africa.

Habitat

Breeds on small and shallow, densely vegetated freshwaters, in Eurasia often in association with Black-headed Gulls. Breeding sites are frequently abandoned in favour of new sites for no apparent reason. In winter on larger, more open freshwaters, estuaries and sheltered seas.

Behaviour

Breeding: Breeding begins mid-April in south of range to June in north, probably year-round in Africa. Breeds colonially, nest is a low mound of vegetation anchored to emergent vegetation in shallow water. Eggs: 3-5 (rarely 2-8), whitish initially soon becoming stained (44 x 30mm). Incubated by both sexes but mainly female for 20-21 days. Young tended by both sexes but divide brood in later stages, young able to feed themselves at 14 days, independent at 21 days. Single-brooded, possibly double-brooded at times.

Diet: Aquatic insects and their larvae, small fish, amphibians and crustaceans.

Vocalisation

A wide range of calls when breeding including a display trill, a whistling bidder-widder-widder and a low poo-eep. Alarm call is whit repeated 2-3 times.

<flashmp3>Podiceps nigricollis (song).mp3</flashmp3>
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External Links

Search for photos of Black-necked Grebe in the gallery