Podiceps cristatus - Great Crested Grebe
Feather characters. Barbules are of medium length (1.0-1.4 mm) and filamentous without any pigmented parts. Borders between cells are visible, but hardly swollen and thus too small to qualify as nodes. These nodal structures (15-18 per mm) have about the same size along the entire length of the barbules, only slightly decreasing towards the tip. Villi are absent and internodes are straight. Prongs are mostly located on distal end of barbules, mostly on one side of the pennulum. Their length varies but the longest prongs may reach a length between half and the entire length of the adjacent internode.
Field characters. Size 48 cm. Weight: male 738 g (596-813), female 609 g (568-686) (Dunning, 1993). Largest grebe. Easy to distinguish by black-brown ear-tufts and in breeding plumage by chestnut-brown and black expandable frill. Seemingly without tail, with slender neck, grey-brown upperparts and shiny satin-white underparts. In winter no frill; head then looks white with dark crown and white line above eye. Juvenile with striped black-and-white neck and head, without ear-tufts and frill; bill pink. Flies low over water; in flight wings show large amount of white. Has an elaborate display ritual. Floating nest is anchored to reeds, twigs, etc.
Voice. A loud, barking "gorrr", and a shrill "er-wik", and various trumpet-like, groaning and whirring sounds.
Distribution. Locally fairly common breeding bird. Map: see MapIt.
Habitat. In breeding season on lakes, reservoirs, ponds, quiet reaches of rivers with backwaters; also in town parks, and canals. Outside breeding season on deltas, brackish estuaries, lagoons, sheltered marine inshore waters; also on large lakes and reservoirs.
Food. Obtains fish by diving (usually up to 4 m depth); larger prey items are brought to the surface and then swallowed whole, head first. Aquatic invertebrates form less important part of its diet.