Red-necked Grebe

How to identify

Field marks

1. Black cap extends below eye in breeding plumage
2. Neck rusty in breeding plumage
3. Cheeks and throat very pale gray in breeding plumage
4. Bill black, long and pointed, with yellow base

Male, female and young

Sexes similar, but males are heavier on average; juveniles have a striped face, a pale black cap, a pale red neck and more yellow on the bill.

Voice

In the breeding season, it gives a drawn-out wailing “uooooh”, either alone or in a male–female duet.

Similar species

Horned Grebe

In winter plumage, Horned Grebe is smaller, with a proportionately smaller bill and a white face; this species has a gray face.

Great Crested Grebe

In winter plumage, Great Crested Grebe is similar in size, but has a longer neck, a more contrasting head pattern and always has white above the eye.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April and October · Most records: Canada, United States, United Kingdom

Red-necked Grebe has been recorded at 967 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 59 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Toronto – Colonel Samuel Smith ParkCanada16,814 records
2. Whitefish PointUnited States5,373 records
3. Edmonds WaterfrontUnited States4,647 records

Countries and regions with the most records

CanadaUnited StatesUnited KingdomGermanySwedenPolandDenmarkJapan

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is an aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. A migratory bird, its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes. Grebes prefer shallow bodies of fresh water such as lakes, marshes or fish-ponds as breeding sites.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

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