Little grebe

The little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), also known as 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".<ref name=job>Template:Cite book</ref>

At Template:Convert 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 described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Colymbus ruficollis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal Includes a transcript of the 1764 text.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The tricolored grebe was formerly considered conspecific, with some taxonomic authorities still considering it so.

Subspecies

Seven subspecies are currently accepted, four widespread, and three 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.<ref name=Ogilvie2003/><ref name="Mlíkovský">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=IOC/>

Summer	Winter	Scientific name	Distribution	Notes
File:Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Parc de Woluwé, Brussels (14748388013).jpg Brussels, Belgium	File:Grèbe castagneux Lac de Tunis.jpg 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.
File:Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Breeding by Dr. Raju Kasambe DSCN6305 (6).jpg Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India	File:Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Coimbatore DSCN2958.jpg 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.
File:Tachybaptus ruficollis iraquensis, Al Jahra Governorate, Kuwait 1.jpg Al Jahra, Kuwait	File:Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 120.jpg 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.
File:Little Grebe (or Dabchick), Tachbaptus ruficollis, at Marievale Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa - breeding plumage (21384311706).jpg Marievale, Gauteng, South Africa	File:Tachybaptus ruficollis at Marievale, Gauteng, South Africa - non-breeding plumage (21222514200).jpg Marievale, Gauteng, South Africa	T. r. capensis (Salvadori, 1884)	Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Comoros.	Eye reddish brown; secondaries with extensive white.
File:Little grebe in Sakai, Osaka, February 2016.jpg Sakai, Osaka, Japan	File:Tachybaptus ruficollis poggei (winter plumage) s2.jpg 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.

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.<ref name=IUCN/>

Behaviour

The little grebe is an excellent swimmer and diver and pursues its fish and aquatic invertebrate prey underwater. It uses the vegetation skilfully as a hiding place.

Like all grebes, it nests at the water's edge, since its legs are set very far back and it cannot walk well. Usually four to seven eggs are laid. When the adult bird leaves the nest it usually takes care to cover the eggs with weeds. This makes it less likely to be detected by predators.<ref name=Prokop2011/> The young leave the nest and can swim soon after hatching, and chicks are often carried on the backs of the swimming adults.<ref name=Finn1905/> In India, the species breeds during the rainy season.<ref name=Dalgliesh1906/>

Gallery

• Zampullín corriendo sobre el agua - little grebe running on the water.jpg

  T. r. ruficollis in Spain; no white in the wing

• カイツブリ, Little grebe ー 東京港野鳥公園.jpg

  T. r. poggei in Japan; no white in the wing

• Little Grebe by Tisha Mukherjee 27.jpg

  T. r. albescens in India; extensive white in the wing

• LittleGrebe DSC0240.jpg

  Nest at edge of lake in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

• Non breeding Little Grebe.jpg

  Grebe displaying its webbed feet

• Tachybaptus ruficollis-diving.jpg

  Diving at Delta del Llobregat, Barcelona

• Zampullín chico, polluelo Tachybaptus ruficollis.jpg

  Chick

• Tachybaptus ruficollis MWNH 1919.JPG

  Eggs, Collection Museum Wiesbaden

External links

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• BTO BirdFacts - Little Grebe
• Grebes of the World by André Konter
• Information and Illustration on Little Grebe from A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia
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