Pied-billed grebe
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The pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) is a species of the grebe family of water birds primarily found in ponds throughout the Americas.<ref name="Cornell" />
Taxonomy and nameEdit
The pied-billed grebe was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Colymbus podiceps.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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 kolymbos, "diver", and podiceps, "rump-headed", from podici- + Neo-Latin ceps.<ref>Cabard P. and Chauvet B. (2003). Etymologie des noms d'oiseaux Belin Eveil éditeur, France Template:ISBN</ref>
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.<ref name="NW" /><ref name="IL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Since the extinction of the Atitlán grebe (Podilymbus gigas), the pied-billed grebe has become the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus.<ref name="MillerBird">Template:Cite journal</ref> Outside its own genus, the closest relatives of the pied-billed grebe are the small grebes of the genus Tachybaptus.<ref name="STAB">Template:Cite book</ref>
SubspeciesEdit
The following subspecies are recognized:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- P. p. podiceps, (Linnaeus, 1758), nominate subspecies: North America, from Canada to Panama.
- P. p. antarcticus, (Lesson, 1842), South America, from Colombia to central Chile & Argentina.
- P. p. antillarum, (Bangs, 1913), Greater & Lesser Antilles.
DescriptionEdit
Pied-billed grebes are small, stocky, and short-necked. They are Template:Convert in length, with a wingspan of Template:Convert and weigh Template:Convert.<ref name="Muller, M. J. 1999">Muller, M. J., and R. W. Storer. Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps). In The Birds of North America, No. 410 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Philadelphia, PA: The Birds of North America, Inc., 1999.</ref> They are mainly brown, with a darker crown and back.<ref name=USGS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Their brown color serves as camouflage in the marshes they live in.<ref name=NJ/> They do not have white visible under their wings when flying, like other grebes.<ref name=CT/> Their undertail is white<ref name=USGS/> and they have a short, blunt chicken-like bill that is a light grey color,<ref name=Cornell>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=USGS/> which in summer is encircled by a broad black band (hence the name). In the summer, its throat is black.<ref name=Cornell /> There is no sexual dimorphism.<ref name=CT/> Juveniles have black and white stripes and look more like winter adults.<ref name=Cornell /> This grebe does not have webbed feet. Its toes have lobes that come out of the side of each toe. These lobes allow for easy paddling.<ref name=Cornell /> When flying, the feet appear behind the body due to the feet's placement in the far back of the body.<ref name=USGS/> Because of the feet placement, they are not able to walk on land.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
VocalizationEdit
Its call is unique, loud and sounds like a "whooping kuk-kuk-cow-cow-cow-cowp-cowp."<ref name="F19">Template:Cite book</ref> Its call is similar to the yellow-billed cuckoo.<ref name=NJ>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Distribution and habitatEdit
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.<ref name=Cornell/> If they live in an area where the water freezes in the winter they will migrate. Migrating birds generally meet with year-round birds in September and October.<ref name=Seattle/> They migrate at night.<ref name=Cornell/> Most migratory birds leave in March or April.<ref name=Seattle/> They make occasional appearances in Europe and Hawaii.<ref name=Cornell /> In the United Kingdom, pied-billed grebe visits have numbered 45 sightings as of 2019, appearing generally in October to January.<ref name=BTO>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One bird in England bred with a little grebe, producing hybrid young.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is the only grebe on record to have visited the Galapagos Islands.<ref name="SwashStill2006">Template:Cite book</ref>
Pied-billed grebes are found in freshwater wetlands with emergent vegetation, such as cattails.<ref name="F19"/> They are occasionally found in salt water. When breeding they are found in emergent vegetation near open water, and in the winter they are primarily found in open water due to the lack of nests to maintain. They may live near rivers, but prefer still water. They may be found in higher elevations when migrating.<ref name=Seattle>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They will breed in restored and man-made wetlands.<ref name=Seattle/>
Pied-billed grebes live approximately 10–12 years.<ref name=CT/>
BehaviourEdit
Pied-billed grebes rarely fly. They make a slow dive frequently, especially when in danger, diving to about Template:Convert or less.<ref name=Cornell/><ref name=CT/> They dive for about 30 seconds and may move to a more secluded area of the water, allowing only the head to be visible to watch the danger dissipate.<ref name=CT/> This frequency in diving has earned them the description of being reclusive or shy in nature.<ref name="F19"/> It has also earned them nicknames like "hell-diver."<ref name=NW>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Pied-billed grebes can trap air in their feathers, which controls their buoyancy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They rarely spend time in flocks.<ref name=Seattle/> Their courtship include calling and sometimes duets.<ref name=Seattle/> Males will show territorial behaviour if another male is at the edge of his territory. They face each other and then turn their heads and bills up. Then they turn away and start calling. Then they turn back around to look at one another.<ref name=CT/>
BreedingEdit
The pied-billed grebe breeds in south-central Canada, throughout the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and temperate South America.<ref name="Muller, M. J. 1999"/> These grebes may lay up to two sets of eggs a year.<ref name=CT/> Their nests sit on top of the water, their eggs sitting in vegetation that resides in the water.<ref name="F19"/> Grebes lay between three and ten bluish white smooth elliptical eggs with the female starting the incubation process.<ref name=Cornell /><ref name=CT/> They are incubated for around 23 days by both parents, with the female taking over incubation duties towards the end of that time period.<ref name=CT/><ref name=Seattle/> They will cover the nest with nesting material if they have to leave it for an extended period of time.<ref name=Seattle/>
Young grebes may leave the nest within one day of hatching. They are downy at birth. Yellow skin is seen between the lore and top of the head.<ref name=CT/> They do not swim well and stay out of the water. They sleep on their parents' backs. Within four weeks they start swimming.<ref name=Cornell /> When alerted they will climb on the back of a parent grebe and eventually mature to dive under the water like their parents.<ref name=Cornell /><ref name="F19"/> Both parents share the role of raising the young – both feeding and carrying them on their backs.<ref name=Seattle/> Sometimes the parents will dive underwater to get food with the chicks on their backs.<ref name=CT/>
DietEdit
Pied-billed grebes feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates, and also on small fish and amphibians (frogs, tadpoles). They dive to obtain food.<ref name=Cornell /> Their bills allow them to crush crustaceans, like crawfish.<ref name=Cornell /><ref name=Seattle/> They may also eat plants.<ref name=IL/> They have been shown to eat their own feathers, like other grebes, to aid in digestion (prevent injury from small bones).<ref>Ehrlich, Paul; David Dobkin, and Darryl Wheye (1988). The Birder's Handbook. New York: Simon and Schuster.</ref> They will also feed their feathers to their young.<ref name=Seattle/>
ThreatsEdit
They are extremely sensitive to disturbances, especially by humans. While breeding, if scared, adults may abandon their nests without protecting the eggs. The waves from boats can destroy the nests and their sounds easily frighten the birds.<ref name=NJ/>
In cultureEdit
Pied-billed grebe feathers are thick and soft. Their feathers were formerly used as decorations on hats and earmuffs and they were hunted in the eastern United States, in the 19th century.<ref name=NJ/><ref name=CT/>
StatusEdit
The status of pied-billed grebes in the Northeastern United States is dire; they are declining in New England. The reasons are unknown.<ref name=Seattle/> The states of Connecticut and New Hampshire have declared the pied-billed grebe as endangered. In New Jersey<ref name=NJ/> and Massachusetts, they have been declared threatened. In Vermont they are of "special concern." In Rhode Island they are extirpated.<ref name=CT>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=NJ/> However, they are still common in the majority of their distribution areas.<ref name=Seattle/>
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Template:InternetBirdCollection
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- Pied-billed Grebe Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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