Pied-billed grebe

The pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) is a species of the grebe family of water birds primarily found in ponds throughout the Americas. The binomial name is derived from Latin Podilymbus, a contraction of podicipes ("feet at the buttocks", from podici-, "rump-" + pes, "foot")—the origin of the name of the grebe order—and Ancient Greek , "diver", and , "rump-headed", from podici- + Neo-Latin .

Other names of this grebe include American dabchick, rail, dabchick, Carolina grebe, devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, hell-diver, pied-billed dabchick, pied-bill, thick-billed grebe, and water witch.

Since the extinction of the Atitlán grebe (Podilymbus gigas), the pied-billed grebe has become the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus. Outside its own genus, the closest relatives of the pied-billed grebe are the small grebes of the genus Tachybaptus.

Subspecies

thumb|P. p. antarcticus in Colombia

The following subspecies are recognized:

P. p. podiceps, (Linnaeus, 1758), nominate subspecies: continental North America, from Canada to Panama.
P. p. antarcticus, (Lesson, 1842), South America, from Colombia to central Chile and Argentina.
P. p. antillarum, (Bangs, 1913), Greater and Lesser Antilles.

Description

Pied-billed grebes are small, stocky, and short-necked. They are in length, with a wingspan of and weigh . They are mainly brown, with a darker crown and back. Their brown color serves as camouflage in the marshes they live in.

These grebes may be confused with the least grebe, although that species is much smaller and has a thinner bill. Other similarly sized grebes are very distinct in plumage, i.e. the eared grebe and horned grebe. Both species bear much more colorful breeding plumage, with rufous sides, golden crests along the side of the head against contrasting slaty color (also a rufous neck in the horned); while in winter, both the eared and horned grebes are pied with slaty and cream color and have red eyes. Because of the pied-billed grebe's duck-like habits, some inexperienced observers may confuse it with a duck. However, pied-billed grebes have a very different bill shape (shorter, pointed at the tip, and flattened along the sides), as well as being shorter-necked and shorter-bodied than a duck. Also, unlike ducks, the closest living relatives of the grebe family are flamingos.

Vocalization

Its call is unique, loud and sounds like a "whooping kuk-kuk-cow-cow-cow-cowp-cowp". Its call is similar to the yellow-billed cuckoo.

Distribution and habitat

They are most commonly found throughout North and Central America, the Caribbean, and South America year round. During the summer breeding season, they are most prevalent in central, northern and northeastern Canada. One bird in England bred with a little grebe, producing hybrid young. It is the only grebe on record to have visited the Galapagos Islands.

Pied-billed grebes are found in freshwater wetlands with emergent vegetation, such as cattails. They will breed in restored and man-made wetlands. Pied-billed grebes can trap air in their feathers, which controls their buoyancy. They rarely spend time in flocks. They will also feed their feathers to their young. Pied-billed grebes are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Habitat loss is the grebe's biggest threat. The draining, filling, and general destruction of wetlands causes a loss in their breeding habitats.