little grebe

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.

Often keeps singly or in pairs among aquatic vegetation when breeding; in non-breeding season keeps in small loose flocks in open water; Lakes, ponds, village tanks, reservoirs, ditches, and slow-moving revers; rarely on coastal waters.

The Little Grebe feeds on insects and larvae of several families including Ephemeropterans, Plecoptera, Heteroptera, Coleopterans, Dipterans, Trichoptera, and the larvae of Odonata.
But aquatic prey such as crustaceans, molluscs, young amphibians, small frogs and some small fish are also part of the diet. The fish can reach up to 11 centimetres.

Utters a drawn-out whinnying trill in breeding season, and a sharp wit wit in alarm.

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". At 23 to 29 centimetres (9 to 11+1&frasl2 inches) 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. 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. The young leave the nest and can swim soon after hatching and chicks are often carried on the backs of the swimming adults. In India the species breeds during the rainy season.