Eared Grebe

The Eared Grebe, called the Black-necked Grebe in the Old World, is a small grebe with a black head and neck offset in breeding plumage by fan-shaped, golden-yellow ear plumes that splay outward behind bright red eyes. Its body appears fluffy and rounded, with a distinctly peaked crown and a thin, slightly upturned black bill. Non-breeding birds are duller grey and white but retain the peaked crown and upturned bill shape useful for identification.

It is believed to be the most abundant grebe species on Earth, with staggering numbers congregating at a handful of hypersaline lakes, such as Mono Lake and the Great Salt Lake in North America, to feed and molt before continuing migration.

Key field marks

• Breeding: black head and neck, fan-shaped golden ear plumes, red eyes, peaked crown
• Non-breeding: grey-black cap blending into a duskier face than the Horned Grebe, with a peaked crown and slightly upturned thin bill
• Slim overall shape compared to the flatter-headed Horned Grebe

Similar species

• Horned Grebe has a flatter crown and a sharper contrast between the dark cap and white cheeks in winter, plus a straighter bill.
• Pied-billed Grebe has a thick pale bill and lacks the peaked crown.

Habitat

Breeds on shallow freshwater or slightly saline lakes and marshes; stages and winters in vast numbers on hypersaline lakes and coastal bays.

Range

Breeds across western North America and much of Eurasia and Africa; winters in the southwestern United States, Mexico, southern Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Migration

Undertakes remarkable migratory staging, with millions gathering at a few key hypersaline lakes to fatten up before continuing their journey, sometimes flying flightless-molt periods lasting weeks.

Behavior

Extremely gregarious outside the breeding season, forming enormous flocks numbering in the hundreds of thousands at key staging lakes, where individuals may nearly double their body weight before migrating onward in a single long flight.

Voice

Gives thin, high-pitched poo-eep calls and various chattering notes, mainly on breeding grounds.

Feeding

Feeds heavily on aquatic insects and, at hypersaline staging lakes, on enormous quantities of brine shrimp and brine flies.

Nesting

Breeds colonially, building a floating nest anchored to vegetation; typically lays 3-4 pale bluish eggs.