Horned Grebe, Winter Plumage
The white on the sides of the head and the white wing-patches distinguish this species in winter plumage from the Pied-billed Grebe; the gay spring plumage of the Horned Grebe is unmistakable. Look for this bright-eyed diver along the larger waterways. Its ability in swimming under water causes it to evade its enemies by disappearing beneath the surface rather than by flying. Grebes have the interesting habit of swallowing their own feathers as they moult, or as they pluck them out.
Holbœll’s Grebe (Colymbus holbœllii), a much larger bird, is very rare in Pennsylvania. In spring plumage it has a red-brown neck. It is about twice as large as either the Horned or Pied-billed Grebe and has a proportionately heavier and larger bill.
PIED-BILLED GREBE
Podilymbus podiceps podiceps (Linnæus)
Other Names.—Dabchick; Hell-Diver; Dipper; Dipper-Duck (erroneous).
Description.—Sexes similar. Adults in summer: Glossy, dark brown above; throat black; neck, breast, and sides grayish, washed with brownish and indistinctly mottled with blackish; lower breast and belly glossy white; black band across bill. Immature birds and adults in winter: Similar, but without black on throat and bill. Length: 13½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—Rare as a summer resident, chiefly because there are so few lakes and marshes suited to its nesting; fairly common as a migrant from April 1 to May 15 and from August 25 to October 30.
Nest.—Flat, composed of decaying vegetation, floating among water-weeds or anchored by plants which are attached to the bottom. Eggs: 4 to 7, dull white, usually so heavily stained as to be brownish in appearance.
Pied-billed Grebe, Breeding Plumage
The Pied-billed Grebe is such an excellent diver and can so artfully escape detection by swimming beneath the surface of the water, with only its bill exposed, that it is often a difficult bird to observe. On land it is virtually helpless. The shortness of the body of the swimming grebe makes it comparatively easy to identify, and the unmarked wings distinguish this species from the Horned Grebe. The Pied-billed Grebe will frequently be seen along smaller streams and in little ponds.