Great Crested Grebes

The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The bird is characterised by its distinctive appearance, featuring striking black, orange-brown, and white plumage, and elaborate courtship display that involves synchronised dances and displays.

Taxonomy

The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Colymbus cristatus''. It is now the type species of the genus ''Podiceps'' that was erected by the English naturalist John Latham in 1787. The type locality is Sweden. The scientific name comes from Latin: 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 specific name, ''cristatus'', means "crested".

Subspecies

Three subspecies are currently accepted:

Description

The great crested grebe is the largest species of grebe in the Old World, though some larger species occur 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. Birds resident in warmer tropical and subtropical regions (particularly in subspecies ''P. c. infuscatus'' and ''P. c. australis'') such as Kenya and parts of Australia retain breeding plumage all or almost all of the year, with reduced or no winter plumage.

The call is a loud barking ''rah-rah-rah''. They can also produce a clicking ''kek'' call, and deep growls.

The chicks, like most grebe chicks, have boldly striped heads, with alternating black and white stripes; they are often colloquially called "humbugs" from their resemblance to humbug sweets. They lose these markings as they mature during their first winter.

Distribution

The great crested grebe breeds in vegetated areas of freshwater lakes. The subspecies ''P. c. cristatus'' is found across Europe 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 African subspecies ''P. c. infuscatus'' and the Australasian 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 in weight. 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 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 crustaceans, insects, small frogs and newts.

Relationship to humans

This species was hunted almost to extinction in the United Kingdom 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 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, Julian Huxley's 1914 paper on "The Courtship‐habits of the Great Crested Grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'')".

Conservation efforts have been taking place on New Zealand's Lake Wānaka since 2013.

In November 2023, the comedian John Oliver highlighted New Zealand's Bird of the Year campaign in a ''Last Week Tonight'' episode and declared himself the "campaign manager" for the bird, which is also known in New Zealand by its Māori name . The bird was announced as the winner of the competition with the alliteration "Pūteketeke pandemonium prevails".

Gallery

File:Молодая чомга (Podiceps cristatus), Коломенское.jpg, First-winter in autumn with traces of juvenile stripes remaining; Moscow
File:Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) (14).JPG, Juvenile with adult
File:Podiceps cristatus juv.jpg, Head of juvenile with characteristic 'humbug' stripes
File:Podiceps cristatus -Hogganfield Loch, Glasgow, Scotland -adult feeding chick-8 (2).jpg, Adult ready to feed its young in Scotland
File:Great crested grebes (podiceps cristatus).jpg, Mating ritual, Otmoor, Oxfordshire
File:Great crested grebe (podiceps cristatus).jpg, Male displaying during mating ritual, Otmoor, Oxfordshire
File:Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus courtship display by Raju Kasambe 21.JPG, Great crested grebe courtship display at Hyde Park, London
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
File:Podiceps cristatus MWNH 0106.JPG, Eggs from the collection of the Museum Wiesbaden, Germany
File:Podiceps cristatus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.38.1.jpg , Eggs from the MHNT museum collection

References

External links

Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
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Great Crested Grebe Species
''The Atlas of Southern African Birds''
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at BTO.org
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{{Authority control

Podiceps
Birds of Africa
Birds of Eurasia
Birds of Oceania
Birds described in 1758
Birds of Nepal
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus