Little grebe - WikiHQ

The little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), also known as the dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek takhus "fast" and bapto "to sink under". The specific ruficollis is from Latin rufus "red" and Modern Latin -collis, "-necked", itself derived from Latin collum "neck".

At in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.

Taxonomy

The little grebe was formally described in a sales catalogue by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 under the binomial name Colymbus ruficollis. The type locality is the Netherlands. The specific epithet is Modern Latin meaning "red-necked", from Latin rufus meaning "red", "ruddy" or "rufous" and Modern Latin -collis meaning "-necked". The little grebe is now one of five species placed in the genus Tachybaptus that was introduced in 1789 by German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin.

Subspecies

Ten subspecies are currently accepted, four widespread, and six with restricted ranges; they are separated principally by size, eye colour, which varies from dark to light from west to east, and extent of white on the secondary feathers of the wing, which varies from none in temperate northern regions, to extensive white in tropical regions.

{| class="wikitable "

! Summer !! Winter !! Scientific name !! Distribution !! Notes

|120px Brussels, Belgium || 120px Lac de Tunis, Tunisia || T. r. ruficollis Pallas, 1764 || nominate, Europe to western Asia, south to northern Africa; northeast European birds migratory, others resident. || Eye dark brown; secondaries with no or minimal white.

|120px Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India || 120px Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India || T. r. albescens (Blanford, 1877) || Southern and central Asia from Turkmenistan to southern Kazakhstan, south to Sri Lanka, and east through Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh to Myanmar; central Asian birds migratory, south Asian birds resident. || Eye orange to yellow; bill short; secondaries with extensive white.

|120px Al Jahra, Kuwait || 120px Kuwait || T. r. iraquensis (Ticehurst, 1923) || Tigris–Euphrates river system in southeastern Iraq, southwestern Iran, and Kuwait; resident. || Eye dark brown; bill short; secondaries with extensive white.

|120px Marievale, Gauteng, South Africa || 120px Marievale, Gauteng, South Africa || T. r. capensis (Salvadori, 1884) || Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Comoros. || Eye reddish brown; secondaries with extensive white.

|120px Sakai, Osaka, Japan || 120px Kihoku, Mie Prefecture, Japan || T. r. poggei (Reichenow, 1902) || Eastern Asia, in China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and the south Kuril Islands. || Eye pale yellow to white; bill long; secondaries with no or minimal white.

| || || T. r. philippensis (Bonnaterre, 1790) || Northern Philippines (Luzon and nearby islands), Borneo. || Eye pale yellow to white; bill long; secondaries with white.

| || || T. r. cotabato (Rand, 1948) || Southern Philippines (Mindanao). || Eye pale yellow to white; bill long; secondaries with white.

| || || T. r. vulcanorum (Rensch, B, 1929) || Java to Tanimbar Islands ||

|-|-

| || || T. r. tricolor (Gray, GR, 1861) || Sulawesi to New Guinea and Lesser Sunda Islands ||

|-|-

| || || T. r. collaris (Mayr, E, 1945)) || northeastern New Guinea to Bougainville Island (northern Solomon Islands ||

The last three subspecies in the above table, vulcanorum, tricolor and collaris, have sometimes been treated as a separate species, the tricolored grebe.

Description

The little grebe is a small water bird with a pointed bill. The adult is unmistakable in summer, predominantly dark above with its rich, rufous colour neck, cheeks and flanks, and bright yellow gape. The rufous is replaced by a dirty brownish grey in non-breeding and juvenile birds.

Juvenile birds have a yellow bill with a small black tip, and black and white streaks on the cheeks and sides of the neck as seen below. This yellow bill darkens as the juveniles age, eventually turning black in adulthood.

In winter, its size, buff plumage, with a darker back and cap, and "powder puff" rear end enable easy identification of this species. The little grebe's breeding call, given singly or in duet, is a trilled repeated weet-weet-weet or wee-wee-wee which sounds like a horse whinnying.

Distribution

This bird breeds in small colonies in heavily vegetated areas of freshwater lakes across Europe, much of Asia down to New Guinea, and most of Africa. Most birds move to more open or coastal waters in winter, but it is only migratory in those parts of its range where the waters freeze. Outside of breeding season, it moves into more open water, occasionally even appearing on the coast in small bays.