Species: Podiceps auritus

Horned Grebe

Species

Birds

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Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Salish Sea-reliant birds

Puget Sound Partnership indicator species: birds

Species of concern in the Salish Sea

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

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101899

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

Weight

453

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-11-20

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-20

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

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).

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101899