Grebes are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes. Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Most grebes fly, although some flightless species exist, most notably in stable lakes. The order contains a single family, the Podicipedidae, which includes 22 species in six extant genera.
The great crested grebe is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The bird is characterised by its distinctive appearance, featuring striking black and white plumage, and elaborate courtship display that involves synchronised dances and displays.
The red-necked grebe is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes. Grebes prefer shallow bodies of fresh water such as lakes, marshes or fish-ponds as breeding sites.
The horned grebe or Slavonian grebe is a relatively small and threatened species of waterbird in the family Podicipedidae. There are two subspecies: P. a. auritus, which breeds in Eurasia, and P. a. cornutus, which breeds in North America. The Eurasian subspecies is distributed over most of northern Europe and northern Asia, breeding from Greenland east to the Russian Far East. The North American subspecies spans most of Canada and some of the United States. The species got its name from large patches of yellowish feathers located behind the eyes, called "horns", that the birds can raise and lower at will..
The black-necked grebe or eared grebe is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. There are currently three accepted subspecies, including the nominate subspecies. Its breeding plumage features a distinctive ochre-coloured plumage which extends behind its eye and over its ear coverts. The rest of the upper parts, including the head, neck, and breast, are coloured black to blackish brown. The flanks are tawny rufous to maroon-chestnut, and the abdomen is white. When in its non-breeding plumage, this bird has greyish-black upper parts, including the top of the head and a vertical stripe on the back of the neck. The flanks are also greyish-black. The rest of the body is a white or whitish colour. The juvenile has more brown in its darker areas. The subspecies californicus can be distinguished from the nominate by the former's usually longer bill. The other subspecies, P. n. gurneyi, can be differentiated by its greyer head and upper parts and by its smaller size. P. n. gurneyi can also be told apart by its lack of a non-breeding plumage. This species is present in parts of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas.
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies.
Podilymbus is a genus of birds in the Grebe family, the genus name is derived from Latin Podilymbus, a contraction of podicipes —the origin of the name of the grebe order—and Ancient Greek kolymbos, "diver".
Puffinus is a genus of seabirds in the order Procellariiformes that contains about 20 small to medium-sized shearwaters. Two other shearwater genera are named: Calonectris, which comprises three or four large shearwaters, and Ardenna with another seven species.
Bucephala is a genus of diving ducks found in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Piacenzian is in the international geologic time scale the upper stage or latest age of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 3.6 ± 0.005 Ma and 2.588 ± 0.005 Ma. The Piacenzian is after the Zanclean and is followed by the Gelasian.
Pliolymbus is a fossil genus of grebe known from the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of United States and Mexico. It is known from a single species, P. baryosteus.
Aechmophorus elasson is an extinct species of grebe recovered from the Piacenzian age of the United States.
Podilymbus majusculus is an extinct species of grebe recovered from the Piacenzian age of the United States.
Podiceps csarnotanus is an extinct species of Upper Pliocene grebe from Hungary.
Podiceps oligoceanus is an extinct species of grebe possibly from the Neogene period which the specimen has been found in the United States.
Podiceps howardae is a possible extinct species of grebe from the United States, possibly a larger and earlier form of the horned grebe.
Podiceps solidus is an extinct small species of Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene grebe from Western Mongolia.
Podiceps discors is an extinct species of grebe from the Upper Pliocene of western North America. It was similar to the black-necked grebe.
Podiceps arndti is an extinct species of grebe from the Upper Pliocene of California.
