American dabchick, rail, dabchick, Carolina grebe
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.
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.
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 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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pied-billed grebes are important in their ecosystem as they control populations of their prey items.