The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the

grebe 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. Some flightless species exist as well, most notably ...

family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display.

Taxonomy

The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

in 1758 in the tenth edition of his '' Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Colymbus cristatus''. The great crested grebe is now the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

of the genus ''

Podiceps ''Podiceps'' is a genus of birds in the grebe family. The genus name comes from Latin ''podicis'', "rear-end" and ''ped'', "foot", and is a reference to the placement of a grebe's legs towards the rear of its body. It has representatives breed ...

'' that was erected by the English naturalist John Latham in 1787. The type locality is Sweden. The scientific name comes from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: the genus name ''Podiceps'' is from , "vent" and , "foot", and is a reference to the placement of a grebe's legs towards the rear of its body; the species name, ''cristatus'', means "crested". Three subspecies are recognised: * ''P. c. cristatus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Eurasia * ''P. c. infuscatus'' Salvadori, 1884 – Africa * ''P. c. australis''

Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, a ...

, 1844 – Australia, Tasmania, South Island of New Zealand

Description

The great crested grebe is the largest member of the grebe family found in the Old World, with some larger species residing in the Americas. They measure long with a wingspan and weigh . It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater. The adults are unmistakable in summer with head and neck decorations. In winter, this is whiter than most grebes, with white above the eye, and a pink bill. The young are distinctive because their heads are striped black and white. They lose these markings when they become adults.

Distribution

The great crested grebe breeds in vegetated areas of freshwater lakes. The subspecies ''P. c. cristatus'' is found across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and east across the Palearctic. It is resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from the colder regions. It winters on freshwater lakes and reservoirs or the coast. The

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n subspecies ''P. c. infuscatus'' and the

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

n subspecies ''P. c. australis'' are mainly sedentary.

Behaviour

Breeding

The great crested grebe has an elaborate mating display. Like all grebes, it nests on the water's edge. The nest is built by both sexes. The clutch averages four chalky white eggs which average in size and weigh . Incubation is by both parents and begins as soon as the first egg is laid. The eggs hatch asynchronously after 27 to 29 days. The

precocial In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the mome ...

young are cared for and fed by both parents. Young grebes are capable of swimming and diving almost at hatching. The adults teach these skills to their young by carrying them on their back and diving, leaving the chicks to float on the surface; they then re-emerge a few feet away so that the chicks may swim back onto them.

Feeding

The great crested grebe feeds mainly on fish, but also small

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s, small

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s and

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

Relationship to humans

This species was hunted almost to

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in the 19th century for its head plumes, which were used to decorate ladies' hats and garments. The

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thr ...

was set up to help protect this species, which is again a common sight. The great crested grebe and its behaviour was the subject of one of the landmark publications in avian

ethology Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objecti ...

: Julian Huxley's 1914 paper on ''The Courtship‐habits of the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)''.

Gallery

File:Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) (14).JPG, Juvenile with adult File:Podiceps cristatus juv.jpg, Head of juvenile with characteristic stripes File:Podiceps cristatus -Hogganfield Loch, Glasgow, Scotland -adult feeding chick-8 (2).jpg, Adult ready to feed its young in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

File:Great crested grebes (podiceps cristatus).jpg, Mating ritual,

Otmoor Otmoor or Ot Moor is an area of wetland and wet grassland in Oxfordshire, England, located halfway between Oxford and Bicester. It is about above sea level, and has an area of nearly . It is encircled by the "Seven Towns" of Otmoor: Beckley, N ...

, Oxfordshire File:Great crested grebe (podiceps cristatus).jpg, Male displaying during mating ritual,

, Oxfordshire File:Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus courtship display by Raju Kasambe 21.JPG, Great Crested Grebe courtship display at

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Listed building#Heritage protection, Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks of London, Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensingt ...

, UK File:Podiceps cristatus 1 2013.jpg, Podiceps cristatus with nest and eggs, Sweden 2013 File:Podiceps cristatus 2 2013.jpg, Podiceps cristatus family at nest, Sweden 2013 File:Podiceps Cristatus 2015-5786.jpg, Podiceps Cristatus Sweden 2015 Podiceps cristatus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.38.1.jpg , Museum specimen

References

Sources

External links

Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
*
Great Crested Grebe Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
* *

* * * {{Authority control

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...

Birds of Africa Birds of Eurasia Birds of Oceania

Birds of Nepal