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Red-necked Grebe

Podiceps grisegenaOrder: PODICIPEDIFORMESFamily: Grebes (Podicipedidae)

Red-necked Grebe Portrait
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General

Red-necked Grebe: Large grebe with dark gray upperparts and cap, and white underparts with gray flanks. Lower face and nape are white; neck is red-brown. Eyes are dark brown. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has gray neck and less white on face. Juvenile resembles winter adult but has brown wash on neck.

Range and Habitat

Red-necked Grebe: Breeds from Alaska and northern Canada south to Oregon, Idaho, Ontario, and southern Minnesota; rarely east to southern Quebec. Spends winters south along coasts to southern California and Georgia, and rarely to Florida. Summer habitats include ponds and lakes; found on large lakes, coastal bays, and estuaries during winter and migration.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"crick-crick"

Interesting Facts

  • The Red-necked Grebe ingests large quantities of its own feathers. Feathers remain in the bird's stomach. The function of feathers in the stomach is unknown. It also feedsthem to its young.
  • Boldly marked, vocal, and aggressive during the breeding season, it is quiet and subtly attired in winter.
  • It takes a long-running "taxi" in order for this small-legged and small-winged bird to take off, so it rarely flies outside of migration.
  • A group of grebes are collectively known as a "water dance" of grebes.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Red-necked Grebe
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Podiceps grisegena
Length17 - 19 Inches
Wingspan31 Inches

Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe: Large grebe with dark gray upperparts and cap, white underparts with gray flanks. Lower face and nape are white; neck is red-brown. Eyes are dark brown. Long thick yellow bill with dark tip. Black legs, feet. Dives for small fish and crustaceans. Direct flight on rapid wing beats.

● Song: "crick-crick"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-necked Grebe: Eats small fish, crayfish, aquatic insects, tadpoles, salamanders, and aquatic plants; forages by diving from the water surface.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-necked Grebe: Two to six light blue or pale buff eggs are laid on a floating nest made of dead reeds and grass; rarely nests in colonies. Incubation ranges from 20 to 23 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Red-necked Grebe: Horned and Eared grebes are smaller with much shorter bills that are never yellow at the base.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red-necked Grebe Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Red-necked Grebe: Breeds from Alaska and northern Canada south to Oregon, Idaho, Ontario, and southern Minnesota; rarely east to southern Quebec. Spends winters south along coasts to southern California and Georgia, and rarely to Florida. Summer habitats include ponds and lakes; found on large lakes, coastal bays, and estuaries during winter and migration.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight36.8 Ounces