Eared Grebe

Like the rest of its clan, the Eared Grebe eats feathers-either old, discarded ones or feathers plucked from its breast. It can eat so many feathers that balls form in its stomach and pack the digestive tract. It is thought that this behavior protects the stomach lining and intestines from sharp fish bones; the feathers might also slow the passage of food through the digestive system, which allows more time for nutrients to be absorbed. These gregarious, colonial birds often replace Horned Grebes in northern areas. The Eared Grebe is a widely distributed species that occurs in western North America, Europe, Asia, Central Africa and South America. The scientific name nigricollis means 'black neck,' which is a useful field mark for this species.

Podiceps nigricollis

I.D.: Sexes similar. Breeding: black neck, cheek, forehead and back; red flanks; gold ear tufts ('horns'); white underparts; thin, straight bill; red eyes; slightly raised crown. In flight: wings beat constantly; hunchbacked appearance; legs trail behind the tail.

Size: L 12-14 in. (30-36 cm).

Range: fairly common spring and fall migrant throughout the Rockies; locally common breeder in the northern Rockies.

Habitat: never seen on land. In migration: wetlands and larger lakes. Breeding: shallow, weedy wetlands.

Nesting: usually colonial; in thick vegetation in lake edges, ponds and marshes; shallow, flimsy, floating platform nest, made of wet and decaying plants, is anchored to or placed among emergent vegetation; pair incubates the eggs and raises the young.

Feeding: makes shallow dives and gleans the surface for aquatic insects, crustaceans, mollusks, small fish and larval and adult amphibians.

Voice: usually quiet outside the breeding season; mellow poo-eee-chk during courtship.

Similar Species: Horned Grebe: rufous neck. Pied-billed Grebe: thicker bill; mostly brown body. Red-necked Grebe: red neck; white cheek.