Species: Podiceps auritus
Horned Grebe
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
See Kaufman (1992, Am. Birds 46:1187-1190) for detailed information on identification of birds in basic plumage.
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Podicipediformes
Family
Podicipedidae
Genus
Podiceps
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Zambullidor Cornudo - grèbe esclavon
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Other Birds
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Podicipediformes - Podicipedidae - Podiceps
Ecology and Life History
See Kaufman (1992, Am. Birds 46:1187-1190) for detailed information on identification of birds in basic plumage.
Migration
false - false - true - Arrives in winter habitat in West mainly in October, departs for northern breeding areas mostly by April, peak influx in south-central Canada breeding areas early May. May aggregate at staging areas and resting areas during migration. Migrates day/night.
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Diet mainly small fishes, crustaceans and aquatic insects; also amphibians and leeches; aquatic insects predominate in summer, crustaceans and fishes in winter. Forages by diving in shallow water, often near emergent vegetation; also picks food from surface or from vegetation (Terres 1980, Johnsgard 1987).
Reproduction Comments
Eggs are laid mid-May to mid-July in southern Canada. Average clutch size is 4-6. Incubation lasts usually 22-25 days, by both sexes. Young are tended by one or both parents, most fledge by 6-7 weeks. Renests if nest destroyed. Usually one pair (sometimes several) per pothole.
Ecology Comments
Primarily nongregarious, except at staging and resting areas prior to and during migration. Predation may result in high nest losses. Size of breeding territory reflects location and abundance of food supply.
Length
34
Weight
453
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-20
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-20
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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Global Range
BREEDS: central and southern Alaska and Canada south to Idaho, northern South Dakota, northern Iowa, and central Wisconsin, with the highest breeding densities in southwestern Manitoba; Iceland, Faroes, Eurasia. WINTERS: in North America, mainly along the coast south to California, Texas, Florida (less commonly interiorly, from the Great Lakes south); in Old World south to Mediterranean Sea, Iran, and Japan. Areas of highest winter density include northwestern Washington and the Gulf Coast near Pensacola (Florida); to a lesser degree, various national wildlife refuges along the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to southeastern Canada (Root 1988).