Sungrebe

The Sungrebe is a shy, grebe-like swimming bird of quiet Neotropical waterways, the only New World member of the small finfoot family (Heliornithidae). It has olive-brown upperparts, white underparts, and a distinctive black-and-white striped pattern on the neck, along with a slender orange-red bill marked with dark bands and lobed toes adapted for swimming. Its most remarkable trait is unique among birds: males possess pouches of skin under each wing in which they carry and shelter downy chicks, even while swimming and diving.

Key field marks

• Slim, low-swimming silhouette with a long neck and tail.
• Black-and-white striped neck pattern.
• Orange-red bill with dark markings.
• Lobed (not webbed) toes.

Similar species

Superficially recalls a small grebe or cormorant when swimming low in the water, but its striped neck, colorful bill, and shy, stream-hugging habits distinguish it. No other Neotropical waterbird shares this combination.

Sungrebes inhabit quiet, shaded forest streams, slow rivers, and oxbow lakes with overhanging vegetation for cover, from lowland Mexico through Central America and across much of tropical South America to northern Argentina. They are non-migratory, secretive residents that quickly dive or slip into cover when disturbed.

Voice

A series of soft, low clucking or grunting notes, generally quiet and easily overlooked.

Feeding

Sungrebes swim low in the water and along stream edges, picking insects, small fish, crustaceans, and other small aquatic prey from the surface or from overhanging vegetation.

Nesting and breeding

A simple platform nest is built low over water in streamside vegetation. The species is famous for the male's specialized pouches of loose skin beneath each wing, in which he carries and broods newly hatched chicks — even while swimming and diving — providing warmth and protection unmatched elsewhere in the bird world.