Height: 12"

Description: Stout grebe with a stumpy neck, and a big semi-circular head. Brown overall with some dark streaking. Wings and tail are short and there is a white patch on the undertail. Bill of the breeding adult is gray with a black ring and the throat is black. On the non-breeding adult, the bill is brownish with a light ring, and the throat is light. Juveniles are like winter adult, but have redder throat and chicks are streaked with black and white.

Voice: I've heard them make a "e-e-e-e-e" sound in aggression. eNature.com mentions a cow-cow-cowp-cowp call. Audio for the "cow" call is available at eNature.com.

Feeding: The Pied-Billed Grebe dives and swims underwater to catch its food. It is a very agile and fast underwater swimmer. It eats fish, small crustaceans, aquatic insects, and is especially fond of crayfish.

Behavior at Wakodahatchee: Groups of Pied-Billed Grebes inhabit all of the lakes at Wakodahatchee in the winter. They are less prevalent in the summer and one couple may claim each pond as breeding territory. They are social during non-breeding seasons, but become less tolerant of each other as breeding approaches. They display aggression or sometimes apparently greet each other with a quick, quiet "nuh-nuh-nuh-huh-huh-huh-uh-uh-uh" and may give chase by flying along the surface of the water, slapping body and splashing surface of water with wing. They are an ancient species and clumsy flyer. If approached too closely they may sink quietly underwater and resurface out of sight.

Click here for more information on The Pied-billed Grebe from eNature.com

One unusual behavior of the Pied-billed Grebe is that it eats its own feathers to line its stomach with down. The gizzard of the Pied-billed Grebe is not very efficient. Therefore, it is thought that this behavior serves to cushion the walls of the stomach from the sharp edges of the mollusk shells that the gizzard is unable to grind down.