Podiceps nigricollis
The Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) is a striking, highly aquatic diving bird, renowned for its elegant appearance and unique behaviors. Measuring 28-34 cm (11-13.4 in) in length with a wingspan of 40-45 cm (15.7-17.7 in) and weighing 250-400 g (8.8-14.1 oz), it presents a distinctive profile. In breeding plumage, it boasts a jet-black head and neck, piercing red eyes, and a prominent fan of golden, filamentous plumes extending from behind the eye, contrasting sharply with its dark ...
Primarily inhabiting shallow, freshwater or brackish wetlands, lakes, and marshes with emergent vegetation for nesting, the Black-necked Grebe is found from lowlands up to moderate elevations.
Their diet consists primarily of aquatic insects (especially larvae), crustaceans, and small fish, which they capture through agile pursuit diving.
Black-necked Grebes are diurnal and spend almost their entire lives on the water, rarely coming ashore, often forming communal roosts outside the breeding season. They are pursuit divers, actively chasing aquatic invertebrates and small fish underwater with remarkable agility. During breeding sea...
The Black-necked Grebe boasts a remarkably widespread distribution, breeding across Eurasia and western North America. In North America, breeding populations are concentrated in the Great Basin region, Canadian Prairies, and scattered wetlands in the western United States. Eurasian breeding groun...
Least Concern
- Black-necked Grebes are known for their spectacular courtship “weed dance” and “penguin dance” where pairs rise breast-to-breast or run across the water. - They are one of the few bird species that regularly carry their young on their backs, even diving with them to escape predators. - During t...