Great Crested Grebe
In the mid-nineteenth century Great Crested Grebe pelts were the height of fashion. That silky smooth white belly was known as "Grebe Fur" and was used for lining capes, hats and muffs. And those elegant orange face plumes were known as tippets and were a popular hat decoration. They were slaughtered by the score for their feathers and by 1860 there were just 30 pairs left in the UK. So it is amazing that when not hunted the UK population has bounced back to around 4600 pairs. It has also benefited from the numerous lakes created by gravel extraction when we built all the roads and motorways in the second half of the twentieth century.
Podiceps cristatus, the scientific name of the Great Crested Grebe translates as crested arse-foot, because their feet emanate from the back of the body. This is perfect for birds that spend almost all their time in water (such as Divers) but terrible for birds that walk on land as well. So geese, swans and most ducks have their legs emanating from the middle of the body, so they can walk and swim. This one was having a little shake so you can see all the little droplets of water. But because it's raised out of the water it shows its once sought-after underbelly plumage perfectly. I wonder if they'd have been such a popular fashion item if they were still known as Arsefoots rather than Grebes during the nineteenth century. The name Arsefoot gave way to Grebe in the eighteenth century.
Great Crested Grebe
In the mid-nineteenth century Great Crested Grebe pelts were the height of fashion. That silky smooth white belly was known as "Grebe Fur" and was used for lining capes, hats and muffs. And those elegant orange face plumes were known as tippets and were a popular hat decoration. They were slaughtered by the score for their feathers and by 1860 there were just 30 pairs left in the UK. So it is amazing that when not hunted the UK population has bounced back to around 4600 pairs. It has also benefited from the numerous lakes created by gravel extraction when we built all the roads and motorways in the second half of the twentieth century.
Podiceps cristatus, the scientific name of the Great Crested Grebe translates as crested arse-foot, because their feet emanate from the back of the body. This is perfect for birds that spend almost all their time in water (such as Divers) but terrible for birds that walk on land as well. So geese, swans and most ducks have their legs emanating from the middle of the body, so they can walk and swim. This one was having a little shake so you can see all the little droplets of water. But because it's raised out of the water it shows its once sought-after underbelly plumage perfectly. I wonder if they'd have been such a popular fashion item if they were still known as Arsefoots rather than Grebes during the nineteenth century. The name Arsefoot gave way to Grebe in the eighteenth century.