Pied-billed Grebe
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| Podilymbus podiceps (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Since the Atitlán Grebe, Podilymbus gigas, has become extinct, it is the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus.
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[edit] Description
The Pied-billed Grebe is small, stocky, and short-necked. It is 31-38 cm (12"-15") in length, it has a wingspan of 45-62 cm (18"-24") and weighs 253-568 g (8.93-20.05 ounces)[1]. It is usually brown or gray in color. It has a short, blunt chicken-like bill, which in summer is encircled by a broad black band (hence the name). It is the only grebe that does not show a white wing patch in flight. The sexes look alike (no sexual dimorphism).
[edit] Diet
Pied-billed Grebes feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates, and also on small fish and amphibians (frogs, tadpoles). Pied-billed Grebes have been shown to eat their own feathers to aid in digestion (prevent injury from small bones) [2].
[edit] Breeding and Distribution
The Pied-billed Grebe breeds in south-central Canada, throughout the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and temperate South America [3]. It creates an open bowl type nest in a platform of floating vegetation, loosely anchored by the cattails to float with the waves. When it leaves its nest it covers its eggs with vegetation. After a period of time the vegetation will stain the eggs and help conceal them better.
Although this species does not appear to be a strong flier, it has occurred in Europe as a rare vagrant on a number of occasions, and one bird in England bred with a Little Grebe, producing hybrid young.
[edit] Habitat
The most widespread of North American grebes, it is found on many open waters, such as remote ponds, marshes, and sluggish streams. It is usually the first grebe to arrive on northern inland waters in springtime, and the last to leave in autumn. It is rare on salt water.
[edit] Etymology
Podilymbus is a contraction of Latin podicipes ("feet at the buttocks", from podici-, "rump-" + pes, "foot") - the origin of the name of the grebe order - and Ancient Greek kolymbos, "diver". podiceps, "rump-headed", from podici- + New Latin ceps[4]
[edit] Miscellaneous
This grebe is usually silent, except in breeding season when the male voices a loud, laughing cuck, cuck, cuck or cow, cow, cow. It rarely flies, preferring to escape danger by diving.
Folk names of this grebe include dabchick, devil-diver, dive-dapper, hell-diver, and water witch.
There are several prehistoric taxa of Podilymbus described from fossil remains:
- Podilymbus majusculus (Late Pliocene of WC USA)
- Podilymbus wetmorei (Late Pleistocene of Florida, USA)
- Podilymbus podiceps magnus - a paleosubspecies of the Pied-billed Grebe of uncertain validity.
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pied-billed Grebe |
- BirdLife International (2004). Podilymbus podiceps. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 9 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Character Sketches vol.1 , 1981
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Muller, M. J., and R. W. Storer. Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps). In The Birds of North America, No. 410 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Philadelphia, PA: The Birds of North America, Inc., 1999.
- ^ Ehrlich, Paul, David Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye. The Birder's Handbook. New York: Simon and Shuster, 1988.
- ^ Muller, M. J., and R. W. Storer. Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps). In The Birds of North America, No. 410 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Philadelphia, PA: The Birds of North America, Inc., 1999.
- ^ Cabard P. and Chauvet B. in Etymologie des noms d'oiseaux (2003) Belin Eveil éditeur, France ISBN 2701137837
[edit] External links
- BTO BirdFacts - Pied-billed Grebe
- Pied-billed Grebe Information - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Pied-billed Grebe - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Pied-billed Grebe Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Pied-billed Grebe - eNature.com
 A watercolor drawing of a Pied-billed Grebe, aptly showing the reasons for its scientific name. |
 Pied billed Grebe with chicks |
 Pied billed Grebe feeding a chick |
 Immature Pied billed Grebe |
