Great Crested Grebe
Podiceps cristatus
Great Crested Grebes swallow their own feathers and feed them to their chicks to line the stomach, which helps protect their digestive tract from sharp fish bones.
- Scientific name
- Podiceps cristatus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Podicipediformes › Podicipedidae › Podiceps
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Large, shallow freshwater lakes, reservoirs, and slow-flowing rivers with abundant reed beds for nesting.
- Diet
- Primarily small fish, supplemented by aquatic insects, crustaceans, and amphibians.
- Range
- Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand
- Size
- Length: 46-51 cm, Wingspan: 85-90 cm, Weight: 0.9-1.5 kg
- Lifespan
- 10-15 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss through reed bed destruction, water pollution, recreational water sports disturbance, and entanglement in discarded fishing gear.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Observe these elegant waterbirds from a safe distance of at least 30 meters, especially during the nesting season, as close approach can cause parents to abandon their floating nests. If you find an injured grebe, contact local wildlife rescue; do not attempt to handle without gloves as their sharp bills can strike defensively at eyes.
The great crested grebe ( Podiceps cristatus ) is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. The scientific name comes from Latin. Podiceps is from podicis , "vent" and pes , "foot", and is a reference to the placement of a grebe's legs towards the rear of its body, and the species name, cristatus means "crested".
Photo: caroline legg, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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