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Bird name:

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Order

PODICIPEDIFORMES

Family

Grebes (Podicipedidae)

Code 4

PBGR

Code 6

PODPOD

ITIS

174505

Breeding Location:

Marshes, freshwater, Swamps

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Very common

Egg Color:

Light blue, nest stained

Number of Eggs:

2 - 10

Incubation Days:

23 - 27

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Platform of decaying vegetation.

Migration:

Some migrate

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General

Pied-billed Grebe: Medium-sized, stocky grebe with brown upperparts, paler brown underparts with barred sides and flanks, and distinct white undertail coverts. Chin is black and bill is white with central black ring. Eyes are dark. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has white chin and lacks ring on bill. Juvenile resembles winter adult but has brown streaks on face and upper neck.

Range and Habitat

Pie-billed Grebe: Breeds from British Columbia, southern Mackenzie, and Nova Scotia southward. Spends winters in the southern states or wherever water remains open. Preferred habitats include marshes and ponds.

Breeding and Nesting

Pied-billed Grebe: Two to ten light blue eggs are laid in a well-hidden floating nest made of dead marsh vegetation anchored to emergent plants. Incubation ranges from 23 to 27 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Pied-billed Grebe: Eats aquatic vegetation, insects, fish, and crustaceans; forages by diving from the surface and swimming underwater.

Vocalization

Pied-billed Grebe: Emits a series of hollow cuckoo-like notes "cow-cow-cow-cow, cow, cow, cowp, cowp, cowp", that slows down at the end.

Similar Species

Pied-billed Grebe: Least Grebe is smaller and has yellow eyes and slender, dark bill.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Undertail coverts

Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Chin

The area of the face just below the bill.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America