Pied-Billed Grebe

Pied-Billed Grebe

American dabchick, rail, dabchick, Carolina grebe

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Podilymbus podiceps
Population size
110-300 Thou
Life Span
10-12 years
Weight
253-568
8.9-20
goz
g oz 
Length
31-38
12.2-15
cminch
cm inch 
Wingspan
45-62
17.7-24.4
cminch
cm inch 

The Pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) is a small water bird found throughout the Americas. The feathers of these adorable birds are thick and soft. Their feathers were formerly used as decorations on hats and earmuffs and they were hunted in the eastern United States, in the 19th century.

Di

Diurnal

Ca

Carnivore

Pi

Piscivores

In

Insectivores

Aq

Aquatic

Pr

Precocial

Na

Natatorial

Te

Terrestrial

Te

Territorial

Co

Congregatory

Ov

Oviparous

Se

Serial monogamy

Ge

Generally solitary

So

Social

Pa

Partial Migrant

Mi

Migrating

P

starts with

Appearance

Pied-billed grebes are small, stocky, and short-necked. They are mainly brown, with a darker crown and back. Their brown color serves as camouflage in the marshes they live in. They do not have white visible under their wings when flying, like other grebes. Their undertail is white and they have a short, blunt chicken-like bill that is a light grey color, which in summer is encircled by a broad black band (hence the name). In the summer, its throat is black. Juveniles have black and white stripes and look more like winter adults. This grebe does not have webbed feet. Its toes have lobes that come out of the side of each toe. These lobes allow for easy paddling. When flying, the feet appear behind the body due to the feet's placement in the far back of the body. Because of the feet placement, grebes are not able to walk on land.

Distribution

Geography

Pied-billed grebes are found throughout North America, Central America and South America year-round. During the summer breeding season, they are most prevalent in central, northern and northeastern Canada. If they live in an area where the water freezes in the winter they will migrate. Pied-billed grebes lie in freshwater wetlands with emergent vegetation, such as cattails and may occasionally be found in saltwater. When breeding they are found in emergent vegetation near open water, and in the winter they are primarily found in open water due to the lack of nests to maintain. They may live near rivers but prefer still water. They may also breed in restored and man-made wetlands.

Pied-Billed Grebe habitat map
Pied-Billed Grebe habitat map
Pied-Billed Grebe
Attribution-ShareAlike License

Habits and Lifestyle

Pied-billed grebes are generally solitary birds and rarely spend time in flocks. They are active during the day and feed mainly by diving. They may also pluck insects from foliage, the water’s surface, or catch them in the air. They may sometimes feed in a company of herons and egrets. Pied-billed grebes rarely fly but make a slow dive frequently, especially when in danger, diving to about 20 ft (6.1 m) or less. They dive for about 30 seconds and may move to a more secluded area of the water, allowing only the head to be visible to watch the danger dissipate. This frequency in diving has earned them the description of being reclusive or shy in nature. It has also earned them nicknames like "hell-diver." Most populations of Pied-billed grebes migrate and generally meet with year-round birds in September and October. They migrate at night and leave in March or April. Pied-billed grebes communicate vocally; their call is unique, loud and sounds like a "whooping kuk-kuk-cow-cow-cow-cowp-cowp."

Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

Pied-billed grebes are carnivores (piscivores, insectivores); they feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates, but also small fish and amphibians (frogs, tadpoles) as well as aquatic insects and their larvae. They may also eat plants.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
REPRODUCTION SEASON
April/May
INCUBATION PERIOD
23 days
INDEPENDENT AGE
4 weeks
BABY NAME
chick
web.animal_clutch_size
3-10 eggs

Pied-billed grebes are serially monogamous. It means that pairs stay together only during one breeding season. Their courtship includes calling and sometimes duets. Males will show territorial behavior if another male is at the edge of his territory. They face each other and then turn their heads and bills up. Then they turn away and start calling. Then they turn back around to look at one another. Pied-bill grebes begin breeding in April or May and may produce up to 2 clutches per year. Their nests sit on top of the water and are anchored to marsh vegetation in shallow waters. The female lays between 3 and 10 bluish-white smooth elliptical eggs. They are incubated for around 23 days by both parents, with the female taking over incubation duties towards the end of that time period. If birds have to leave the nest, they will cover it with nesting material. The chicks are precocial and may leave the nest within one day of hatching. They do not swim well and stay out of the water. They sleep on their parents' backs. Both parents share the role of raising the young - both feeding and carrying them on their backs. Within four weeks they start swimming and become reproductively mature at 1 or 2 years of age.

Population

Population threats

Habitat loss is the biggest threat to Pied-billed grebes. The draining, filling, and general destruction of wetlands causes a loss in their breeding habitats. These birds are also extremely sensitive to disturbances, especially by humans. While breeding, if scared, adults may abandon their nests without protecting the eggs. The waves from boats can destroy the nests and their sounds easily frighten the birds. Pied-billed grebes also suffer from the poisoning from pesticides and entanglement in fishing lines.

Population number

According to the What Bird resource, the total population size of the Pied-billed grebe is around 110,000 to 300,000 individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today remain stable.

Ecological niche

Pied-billed grebes are important in their ecosystem as they control populations of their prey items.

Fun Facts for Kids

  • The Pied-billed grebe is the only grebe on record to have visited the Galapagos Islands.
  • Other common names of Pied-billed grebes include devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, hell-diver, pied-billed dabchick, pied-bill, thick-billed grebe, and water witch.
  • Pied-billed grebes do not have webbed feet. Their toes have lobes that come out of the side of each toe; these lobes allow for easy paddling.
  • Pied-billed grebes eat their own feathers and also feed their feathers to their young to aid in digestion; this prevents injury from small bones of their prey such as fish and crustaceans.
  • When alerted Pied-billed grebe chicks will climb on the back of their parents and eventually mature to dive under the water like their parents. Sometimes the parents may even dive underwater to get food with the chicks on their backs.
  • Pied-billed grebes have cone-dense retinas in their eyes that allow the birds to locate prey underwater.
  • The closest living relatives of the grebe family are flamingos.

References

1. Pied-Billed Grebe on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied-billed_grebe
2. Pied-Billed Grebe on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22696574/93571798
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/698503

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