Red-necked grebe

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Red-necked grebe
Grebejougrisparade.jpg
Gifts of aquatic plants are part of the courtship display
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Podicipediformes
Family: Podicipedidae
Genus: Podiceps
Species:
P. grisegena
Binomial name
Podiceps grisegena
(Boddaert, 1783)
PodicepsGrisegenaIUCNver2019-2.png
Range of P. grisegena
  Breeding
  Resident
  Non-breeding
Synonyms

Podiceps griseigena (Lapsus)

The red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) 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.

Contents

The red-necked grebe is a nondescript dusky-grey bird in winter. During the breeding season, it acquires the distinctive red neck plumage, black cap and contrasting pale grey face from which its name was derived. It also has an elaborate courtship display and a variety of loud mating calls. Once paired, it builds a nest from water plants on top of floating vegetation in a shallow lake or bog.

Like all grebes, the red-necked is a good swimmer and particularly swift diver, and responds to danger by diving rather than flying. The feet are positioned far back on the body, near the tail, which makes the bird ungainly on land. It dives for fish or picks insects off vegetation; it also swallows its own feathers, possibly to protect the digestive system. The conservation status of its two subspecies—P. g. grisegena, found in Europe and western Asia, and the larger P. g. holboelii (formerly Holbœll grebe), found in North America and eastern Siberia—is evaluated as Least Concern, and the global population is stable or growing.

Taxonomy

The red-necked grebe was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1781 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. [2] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. [3] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Colymbus grisegena in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. [4] The type locality was subsequently designated as France. [5] The red-necked grebe is now placed in the genus Podiceps that was erected by the English naturalist John Latham in 1787. [6] [7] The genus name Podiceps comes from Latin podicis, "vent" or "anus", and pes, "foot", and is a reference to the placement of a grebe's legs towards the rear of its body. [8] The species name grisegena is from Latin griseus (grey) and gena (cheek) and refers to the face pattern of the breeding adult. [9]

Grebes are small to medium-large water birds with lobed, rather than webbed, toes. There are several genera, of which the most widespread is Podiceps with nine species, one recently extinct. The red-necked grebe's closest relative is the fish-eating great crested grebe of Europe and western Asia. [10] It is possible that the red-necked grebe originally evolved in North America and later spread to Europe, where a change of diet to include more insects helped to reduce competition with its larger cousin. [11] Fossils of the species dating to the middle Pleistocene have been found in Italy. [12]

The red-necked grebe has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies P. g. grisegena in Europe and western Asia, and P. g. holboelii (Holboell's grebe, named for Danish explorer of Greenlandic birds Carl Peter Holbøll) in North America and eastern Siberia. The east Asian birds have slightly smaller bills than the American form, although the differences are too small to merit separation as a third subspecies. [13]

Description

The red-necked grebe is a medium-large grebe, smaller than the great crested grebe of Eurasia, and the western and Clark's grebes of North America, but noticeably larger than other northern grebe species. [14] [15] The adult of the nominate European subspecies is 40–50 cm (16–20 in) long with a 77–85 cm (30–33 in) average wingspan, [16] and weighs 692–925 g (24.4–32.6 oz). [16] In breeding plumage, it has a black cap that extends below the eye, very pale grey cheeks and throat, a rusty red neck, dark grey back and flanks, and white underparts. The eyes are dark brown and the long, pointed bill is black with a yellow base. [17]

Adult of American subspecies with chicks Podiceps grisegena9.jpg
Adult of American subspecies with chicks

The winter plumage of the red-necked grebe is duskier than that of other grebes; its dark grey cap is less defined, and merges into the grey face, and a pale crescent that curves around the rear of the face contrasts with the rest of the head. The front of the neck is whitish or light grey, the hind neck is darker grey, and the yellow of the bill is less obvious than in summer. [17] Although the red-necked grebe is unmistakable in breeding plumage, it is less distinctive in winter and can be confused with similar species. It is larger than the Slavonian (horned) grebe, with a relatively larger bill and a grey, rather than white face. [18] It is closer in size to the Eurasian great crested grebe, but that species is longer-necked, has a more contrasting head pattern, and always shows white above the eye. [17]

The sexes are similar in appearance, although the male averages heavier than the female. [16] Chicks have a striped head and breast, and older juveniles have a striped face, diffuse blackish cap, pale red neck and extensive yellow on the bill. [17]

The subspecies P. g. holboelii is larger than the nominate race at 43–56 cm (17–22 in) length, with a 61–88 cm (24–35 in) wingspan, and a weight of 750–1,600 g (26–56 oz). [19] The plumages are the same as those of the nominate race, although the adult's bill is more extensively yellow. [18] The difference in size between the sexes is greater than for this subspecies that for P. g. grisegena. [13]

The red-necked grebe flies with its long neck extended and its large feet trailing behind the body, which gives it a stretched-out appearance. [20] The relatively small wings are grey with white secondaries, and beat very rapidly. [17] Its small wing area means that the grebe is unable to take off from land, [21] and needs a lengthy run across water to gain the speed needed for take-off. [22] Like all grebes, the red-necked is an expert swimmer; it uses its feet for propulsion underwater, and steers by rotating its legs, since its tail is too short for this purpose. [23]

This is one of the most vocal grebes during the breeding season, but, like its relatives, it is mainly silent for the rest of the year. It has a loud, wailing or howling display call uooooh, given by a single bird or a pair in duet, by night or during the day, and often from cover. Long sequences of up to 60 consecutive notes may be delivered during singing encounters between rival territorial birds. A great variety of quacking, clucking, hissing, rattling and purring calls are also given, with much individual variation. [16]

Distribution and habitat

A breeding adult of the nominate subspecies Podiceps griseigena 2-4c.jpg
A breeding adult of the nominate subspecies

Breeding takes place in shallow freshwater lakes, bays of larger lakes, marshes, and other inland bodies of water, often less than 3 ha (7.4 acres) in extent and less than 2 m (6.6 ft) deep. The red-necked grebe shows a preference for waters in forested areas or, further north, in shrub tundra, and favours sites with abundant emergent vegetation, such as reedbeds. [24] The best breeding habitat is fish-ponds, which have an abundance of food in addition to meeting the other requirements. [25] The American subspecies is less tied to a high aquatic plant density, and sometimes breeds on quite open lakes. [11]

All populations are migratory and winter mainly at sea, usually in estuaries and bays, but often well offshore where fish are within diving reach near shallow banks or islands. [13] The preferred passage and wintering habitat is water less than 15 m (49 ft) deep with a sand or gravel bottom, scattered rocks and patches of seaweed. [24] During winter, birds typically feed alone and rarely aggregate into flocks, but on migration, concentrations of over 2000 individuals may occur at favoured staging sites. [24] Migration is usually at night, but may occur during the day, especially when over water. This is particularly noticeable in autumn on the Great Lakes, when up to 18,000 birds may pass Whitefish Point on Lake Superior; these are thought to be Canadian breeders heading for the Atlantic Ocean to winter. This easterly route is longer than that to the Pacific, but avoids the Rockies. [13]

The breeding range of the red-necked grebe overlaps with that of the Slavonian grebe, although the latter species tends to be displaced from sites suited to both. The red-necked grebe prefers an inland temperate climate, and is less successful near coasts and in subarctic and warm temperate zones. It is usually a lowland bird, breeding below 100 m (330 ft), although has nested at up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in Turkey. [16]

The nominate subspecies breeds from southern Sweden and Denmark through central and eastern Europe east to western Siberia, and winters mainly in the North and Baltic Seas, with smaller numbers in the Adriatic, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Mediterranean and on inland lakes. [26] P. g. holboelii breeds in North America in Alaska, western and central Canada, and the northern US east to Minnesota; in Asia it nests in eastern Siberia from Kamchatka south to Hokkaido and west to Mongolia. The Asian birds winter at sea from Japan to the East China Sea, and American breeders winter in the Pacific, mainly from southern Alaska to British Columbia (with smaller numbers south to California), and in the Atlantic from Newfoundland and Labrador to Florida. Some birds remain on the Great Lakes if they are sufficiently ice-free. [26] This species occurs as a rare winter vagrant in Afghanistan, Pakistan [27] and parts of northern and western India. [28] [29] [30]

Behaviour

Breeding and survival

Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany Podiceps grisegena MWNH 1920.JPG
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany

Red-necked grebes usually nest as isolated pairs with more than 50 m (160 ft) between neighbouring nests, although semi-colonial nesting may occur in suitable sites, where up to 20 pairs each defend a linear territory. [24] Semi-colonial breeding is more likely to occur in prime locations, such as large floating mats of vegetation with no connection to the shoreline. Such sites, safe from most predators and large enough to provide some wind and wave protection, have grebes nesting much closer than shoreline breeders, down to 10 m (33 ft). [31] Pairs nesting in these colonies produce larger clutches of eggs, which hatch earlier in the season and result in larger broods. [32] The territory is defended with various threat displays, including wing-spreading, hunching, and bill-thrusting; [18] pairs breeding in colonies are more aggressive, less likely to leave the nest unguarded and show a greater tendency to move out of sight of the colony when not incubating. [33] Breeding is often in loose association with gulls or other colonial water birds. [16]

Breeding areas must have emergent vegetation Lutt-Witt Moor-2.jpg
Breeding areas must have emergent vegetation

The monogamous pair forms in April or May on migration or at the breeding water, and a highly vocal courtship ritual commences. [16] The elaborate breeding performance includes head-shaking, a head-lowered "cat" display, parallel rushes in an upright position and mutual presentations of green weeds, and culminates in a "penguin" dance in which pair members raise the whole body upright, breast to breast. [16] [17] [18]

Like all grebes, the red-necked grebe nests near water into which it can escape, since the position of the legs far back on the body prevents fast movement on land. It often breeds further within reed beds than other grebes. The nest is a floating platform of plant matter anchored to submerged or emergent vegetation, [16] in water 0.5–0.75 m (20–30 in) deep, and with the bulk of nest below the water line. [11] Egg-laying mainly takes place from mid-April to May in Europe, [14] and somewhat later, from mid-May to June, in North America. [11] Parents may leave the nest for significant periods of time during the night, possibly to evade nocturnal predators. It is unclear whether this is for self-protection or to protect the eggs by diverting attention from the nest; the clutch does not appear to suffer from this temporary abandonment, whatever the reason. [34]

Chicks on a parent's back Podiceps cristatus 3 (Lukasz Lukasik).jpg
Chicks on a parent's back

The red-necked grebe lays four or five (range one to nine) dull white or pale blue eggs, which average 3.4 cm (1.3 in) in breadth, 5.1 cm (2.0 in) in length, and weigh about 30.5 g (1.08 oz), of which 10% is shell. [35] Parents take turns to incubate the eggs for 21–33 days until the precocial downy chicks hatch; [16] they immediately climb onto the parent's back, where they spend most of their time until they are 10–17 days old. [18] [36] The young may be fed by the parents for up to 54 days after fledging, [11] and can fly at 50–70 days. [36] The parents do not interfere with the feeding of their chicks when they are still being carried. Later they care for the younger chicks for longer, and are aggressive with the older offspring. This equalises the post-fledging survival of all chicks, and encourages their independence. [37] The brood may be split, so that each parent feeds only some of the chicks. This spreads the feeding demand equally between the parents. [38]

After breeding the adults moult their wing feathers and are temporarily flightless; migration commences once the flight feathers have regrown. [24] The red-necked grebe is normally single-brooded, although second broods and re-nesting after a clutch has been lost may extend nesting into July or August. [16]

Eggs may be destroyed and chicks killed by a range of predators, including the raccoon in North America and the carrion crow in Europe. [11] [39] Pike may take swimming chicks. [40] On average, for each adult, 0.65 young birds are still alive by their fourth month, although the mortality rate for the adult is unknown. Red-necked grebes attempt to evade birds of prey by diving; when feeding, dives average less than 30 seconds, although escape dives are more prolonged. [11]

Feeding

Chicks are fed by the parents for several weeks. Podiceps grisegena -chick in Alaska-6-4c.jpg
Chicks are fed by the parents for several weeks.

On the breeding grounds, the red-necked grebe feeds mainly on invertebrates including adult and larval aquatic insects, such as water beetles and dragonfly larvae, crayfish and molluscs. Fish (such as smelt [41] ) may be important locally or seasonally, especially for the American subspecies, and crustaceans can constitute up to 20% of the grebe's diet. Birds breeding at the coast often make foraging flights to inland lakes or offshore areas to feed. [24]

Aquatic prey is obtained by diving or by swimming on surface with the head submerged, and terrestrial insects and their larvae are picked off vegetation. [16] A line slanting downward from the eye to the tip of the opened lower mandible may be used for sighting on prey before diving or when swimming under water. The grebe probably opens its bill and looks down the eye-line toward its target. [42] European breeders, which have to compete with the larger great crested grebe for fish, eat a greater proportion of invertebrates than the longer-billed American subspecies, although both races eat mainly fish in winter. [11] Birds of the nominate subspecies from the northernmost breeding populations in Finland and Russia, beyond the range of great crested grebe, have a longer and more slender bill than those further south, reflecting a greater proportion of fish in the diet where their main competitor is absent. [43] If food is scarce, parents may desert unhatched eggs, or allow the smallest chicks to starve, although the latter strategy appears not to be particularly efficient in protecting the older chicks. [44]

Like other grebes, the red-necked grebe ingests large quantities of its own feathers, which remain in the bird's stomach. [18] Feathers are not only swallowed by adults, mainly during self-preening, but are often fed to the young, sometimes within a day of hatching. These feathers soon decompose into a felt-like, amorphous mass. [45] The function of the feathers in the stomach is unknown, although it has been suggested that they help to protect the lower digestive tract from bones and other hard, indigestible material. [18]

Status

Adult and chicks Podiceps grisegena6.jpg
Adult and chicks

The red-necked grebe has a large range, estimated at 1–10 million square kilometres (0.4–3.8 million square miles), and a global population of 150,000–370,000 individuals, [1] with P. g. holboellii about twice as numerous as the nominate race. [46] The population trend has not been quantified, but it is not believed to meet the thresholds for the population decline criterion (declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations) of the IUCN Red List. For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. [1]

The red-necked grebe is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. [47] Parties to the Agreement are required to engage in a wide range of conservation strategies which are describes in a detailed action plan. The plan is intended to address key issues such as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research, education, and implementation. [48]

The Red-necked Grebe was hunted by humans in northern Europe in the Mesolithic and Paleolithic periods, [49] [50] [51] but there is no evidence that there is any significant level of hunting at the present time. [1] [39] In North America, there are potential threats from pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides such as DDT which cause reduced reproductive success due to egg sterility and eggshell thinning. Breeding areas may be threatened by the modification and degradation of lakes and by human disturbance from water-based recreational activities. [24] There is no evidence to suggest that these threats could result in a significant risk to the overall population; more than 70% of North American red-necked grebes breed in Canada, where the population is stable or increasing. [39]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2018). "Podiceps grisegena". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22696599A132582688. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22696599A132582688.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1781). "Le grèbe a joues grises ou le jougris". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 15. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. p. 374.
  3. ↑ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas; Daubenton, Edme-Louis; Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie (1765–1783). "Le Jougris". Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 10. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 931.
  4. ↑ Boddaert, Pieter (1783). Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés (in French). Utrecht. p. 55, Number 931.
  5. ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 150–151.
  6. ↑ Latham, John (1787). Supplement to the General Synopsis of Birds. London: Printed for Leigh & Sotheby. p. 294.
  7. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Grebes, flamingos, buttonquail, plovers, painted-snipes, jacanas, plains-wanderer, seedsnipes". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Ogilvie & Rose (2002) 98
  9. ↑ Ogilvie & Rose (2002) 102
  10. ↑ Ogilvie & Rose (2002) 8–9
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Johnsgard, PA (1987) 130–135
  12. ↑ Bedetti, C. (2001). "Update Middle Pleistocene fossil birds data from Quartaccio quarry (Vitinia, Italy) – The World of Elephants" (PDF). Proceedings 1st International Congress – Rome, October 16–20: 18–22.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Ogilvie & Rose (2002) 57–60
  14. 1 2 Snow & Perrin (1998) 17–20
  15. ↑ Sibley (2000) 29
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Snow & Perrin (1998) 20–22
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mullarney et al. 18
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Red-necked Grebe". BirdFacts. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  19. ↑ Ogilvie & Rose (2002) 92
  20. ↑ Fjeldsa (2004) 140
  21. ↑ Fjeldsa (2004) 31
  22. ↑ Johnsgard (1987) 26–36
  23. ↑ Fjeldsa (2004) 10
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "BirdLife International Species factsheet: Podiceps grisegena". BirdLife International. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  25. ↑ Kloskowski, Janusz (2004). "Food provisioning in red-necked grebes (Podiceps grisegena) at common carp (Cyprinus carpio) ponds". Hydrobiologia. 525 (1–3): 131–138. doi:10.1023/B:HYDR.0000038860.37405.d0. S2CID   21584307.
  26. 1 2 Harrison (1988) 217
  27. ↑ Savage, CDW (1968). "Rednecked Grebe Podiceps griseigena (Boddaert) again sighted in West Pakistan". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 65 (3): 773.
  28. ↑ Rasmussen, PC & JC Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. ISBN   84-87334-67-9.
  29. ↑ Gaston, A J; Pandey, S (1987). "Sighting of Rednecked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena) on the Pong Dam Lake, Himachal Pradesh". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 84 (3): 676–677.
  30. ↑ Mundkur, Taej; Pravez, Rishad (1989). "Sight record of Rednecked Grebe Podiceps griseigena near Rajkot, Gujarat". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 86 (3): 440.
  31. ↑ Sachs, Joel l.; Hughes, Colin R.; Nuechterlein, Gary L.; Buitron, Deborah (2007). "Evolution of coloniality in birds: a test of hypotheses with the red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisena)". The Auk. 124 (2): 628–642. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2007)124[628:EOCIBA]2.0.CO;2.
  32. ↑ Nuechterlein, Gary L.; Buitron, Deborah; Sachs, Joel L.; Hughes, Colin R. (February 2003). "Red-necked grebes become semicolonial when prime nesting substrate is available". The Condor. 105 (1): 80–94. doi:10.1650/0010-5422(2003)105[80:RNGBSW]2.0.CO;2.
  33. ↑ Klatt, Paul H.; Nuechterlein, Gary L.; Buitron, Deborah (1999). "Frequency and distribution of behaviour of red-necked grebes breeding colonially and in classic territories". Behaviour. 141 (3): 263–277. doi:10.1163/156853904322981842.
  34. ↑ Jablow, Valerie (April 2003). "Bringing Up Baby: Scientists zero in on the caring and cunning ways of a seldom-seen waterbird". Smithsonian. 34 (1): 333–337. Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
  35. ↑ "Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena (Boddaert, 1783)". Bird facts. British Trust for Ornithology . Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  36. 1 2 Ogilvie & Rose (2002) 94
  37. ↑ Kloskowski, Janusz (2001). "Temporal patterns of parental resource distribution in the red-necked grebe: equalizing the share of the survivors". Behaviour. 138 (11): 1355–1370. doi:10.1163/156853901317367636.
  38. ↑ Lott (1991) 74, 76, 146
  39. 1 2 3 "Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena)" (PDF). "Marshbird" species conservation status assessment. United States Fish and Wildlife Service . Retrieved 16 August 2008.
  40. ↑ Chamberlin, Michael L. (1977). "Observations on the red-necked grebe nesting in Michigan" (PDF). Wilson Bulletin. 89 (1): 33–46.
  41. ↑ Piersma, T (1988). "Body size, nutrient reserves and diet of red-necked and Slavonian grebes Podiceps grisegena and P. auritus on Lake IJsselmeer, The Netherlands" (PDF). Bird Studies. 35 (1): 13–24. Bibcode:1988BirdS..35...13P. doi:10.1080/00063658809476975.
  42. ↑ Ficken, Robert W.; Matthiae, Paul E.; Horwich Robert (September 1971). "Eye Marks in Vertebrates: Aids to Vision" (PDF). Science. 173 (4000): 936–939. Bibcode:1971Sci...173..936F. doi:10.1126/science.173.4000.936. PMID   17751319. S2CID   11246159. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-09.
  43. ↑ Fjeldsa, Jon (1982). "The adaptive significance of local variations in the bill and jaw anatomy of North European red-necked grebes Podiceps grisegena". Ornis Fennica. 59 (2–3): 84–9.
  44. ↑ Kloskowski, J. (April 2003). "Brood reduction in the Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena". Ibis. 145 (2): 233–243. doi:10.1046/j.1474-919X.2003.00145.x.
  45. ↑ Johnsgard (1987) 37–53
  46. ↑ Ogilvie & Rose (2002) 96
  47. ↑ "Annex 2: Waterbird species to which the Agreement applies" (PDF). Agreement on the conservation of African-Eurasian migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). UNEP/ AEWA Secretariat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  48. ↑ "Introduction". African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement. UNEP/ AEWA Secretariat. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  49. ↑ Simmons, Tal; Dani Nadel (1998). "The avifauna of the early Epipalaeolithic site of Ohalo II (19 400 years BP), Israel: species diversity, habitat and seasonality". International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 8 (2): 79–96. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1212(199803/04)8:2<79::AID-OA386>3.0.CO;2-I.
  50. ↑ Zhilin MG, Karhu AA (2002). "Exploitation of birds in the early Mesolithic of Central Russia. In: Proceedings of the 4th Meeting of the ICAZ Bird Working Group Kraków, Poland, 11–15 September 2001" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 45: 109–116.
  51. ↑ Mannermaa, Kristiina. "The archaeology of wings: Birds and people in the Baltic Sea region during the Stone Age" (PDF). Academic dissertation. Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2008.

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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..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-necked grebe</span> Water bird from parts of Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas

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 distinctive ochre-coloured feathers which extend 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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pied-billed grebe</span> Species of bird

The pied-billed grebe is a species of the grebe family of water birds primarily found in ponds throughout the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western grebe</span> Species of bird

The western grebe is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark's grebe</span> Species of bird

Clark's grebe is a North American waterbird species in the grebe family. Until the 1980s, it was thought to be a pale morph of the western grebe, which it resembles in size, range, and behavior. Intermediates between the two species are known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little grebe</span> Species of bird

The little grebe, also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek takhus "fast" and bapto "to sink under". The specific ruficollis is from Latin rufus "red" and Modern Latin -collis, "-necked", itself derived from Latin collum "neck".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigeon guillemot</span> Seabird in the auk family from North Pacific coastal waters

The pigeon guillemot is a species of bird in the auk family, Alcidae. One of three species in the genus Cepphus, it is most closely related to the spectacled guillemot. There are five subspecies of the pigeon guillemot; all subspecies, when in breeding plumage, are dark brown with a black iridescent sheen and a distinctive wing patch broken by a brown-black wedge. Its non-breeding plumage has mottled grey and black upperparts and white underparts. The long bill is black, as are the claws. The legs, feet, and inside of the mouth are red. It closely resembles the black guillemot, which is slightly smaller and lacks the dark wing wedge present in the pigeon guillemot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal tern</span> Species of bird

The royal tern is a tern in the family Laridae. The species is endemic to the Americas, though strays have been identified in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forster's tern</span> Species of bird

Forster's tern is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and forsteri commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Least grebe</span> Species of bird

The least grebe, an aquatic bird, is the smallest member of the grebe family. It occurs in the New World from the southwestern United States and Mexico to Argentina, and also on Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junin grebe</span> Species of bird

The Junin grebe, also known as Junin flightless grebe or puna grebe, is a species of grebe endemic to Lake Junin in the Andean highlands of Junin in west-central Peru. An endangered species, the current population is estimated at about 300–400 individuals, including 140–320 adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded grebe</span> Species of bird

The hooded grebe, is a medium-sized grebe found in the southern region of Argentina. It grows to about 32 cm (13 in) in length, and is black and white in color. It is found in isolated lakes in the most remote parts of Patagonia and spends winters along the coast of the same region. In 2012 IUCN uplisted the species from Endangered to Critically Endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australasian grebe</span> Species of bird

The Australasian grebe is a small waterbird common on fresh water lakes and rivers in greater Australia, New Zealand and on nearby Pacific islands. At 25–27 cm (9.8–10.6 in) in length, it is one of the smallest members of the grebe family, along with the least grebe and little grebe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great grebe</span> Species of bird

The great grebe is the largest species of grebe in the world. A disjunct population exists in northwestern Peru, while the main distribution is from extreme southeastern Brazil to Patagonia and central Chile. The population from southern Chile is considered a separate subspecies, P. m. navasi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvery grebe</span> Species of bird

The silvery grebe is a species of grebe in the family Podicipedidae. It is found in the western and southern part of South America where it inhabits lakes and other types of open wetlands. There are two subspecies, which by some recent authorities are considered separate species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-tufted grebe</span> Species of bird

The white-tufted grebe, also known as Rolland's grebe, is a species of grebe in the family Podicipedidae. Found in the southern and western South America, its natural habitat is freshwater lakes, ponds and sluggish rivers and streams.

References

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