Stats

Lifespan: 10-15 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Pair
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: Eurasia Africa Australia
Movement: Swimming
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

Famous for its mirrored 'penguin dance' courtship ritual — pairs rear up breast-to-breast from the water in perfect synchrony — the Great Crested Grebe sports a striking chestnut-and-black tippet ruff framing its white face only during breeding season.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A clutch of eggs is incubated in the nest, kept warm by a brooding parent until the chicks pip free.
2.
hatchling
A naked or downy hatchling is fed in the nest by its parents.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest and learns to fly and forage.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Podicipediformes
Family: Podicipedidae
Genus: Podiceps
Species: Podiceps cristatus