Non Breeding Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

Naples Botanical Gardens

Southeaster Florida

USA

 

Part bird, part submarine, the Pied-billed Grebe is common across much of North America. These small brown birds have unusually thick bills that turn silver and black in summer.

 

These expert divers inhabit sluggish rivers, freshwater marshes, lakes, and estuaries. They use their chunky bills to kill and eat large crustaceans along with a great variety of fish, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates.

 

Rarely seen in flight and often hidden amid vegetation, Pied-billed Grebes announce their presence with loud, far-reaching calls.

 

Lobed (not webbed) toes assist with swimming. Pied-billed Grebes pay for their aquatic prowess on land, where they walk awkwardly.

 

Pied-billed Grebe chicks typically leave the nest the first day after hatching and spend much of their first week riding around on a parent’s back.

 

Pied-billed Grebes are fairly poor fliers and typically stay on the water.

 

Pied-billed Grebes can trap water in their feathers, giving them great control over their buoyancy. They can sink deeply or stay just at or below the surface, exposing as much or as little of the body as they wish. When in danger, Pied-billed Grebes sometimes make a dramatic “crash-dive” to get away. A crash-diving grebe pushes its body down with its wings thrust outward. Its tail and head disappears last, while the bird kicks water several feet into the air. – Wikipedia

 

 

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