Where’s Wildlife · Bird Field Guide
Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podiceps
Pronounced (approx.): pod-ih-LIM-bus POD-ih-seps
A compact diving bird that can sink quietly beneath the surface when alarmed or searching for food.
Three Identification Clues
A small, chunky brown waterbird with almost no visible tail.
A short, thick bill shows a dark band during the breeding season.
Breeding adults have a dark throat; young birds have striped faces.
Field Photographs
Showing 8 of 13 photographs.
Beyond the first impression
Plumage & Identification
A bill that changes with the season
Breeding birds have a pale bill crossed by a black band and a dark throat. Outside breeding season, the bill becomes yellowish-brown and the neck looks plainer. The stout bill and blocky head remain useful when the markings behind the name are missing. [1]
Not every small swimming bird is a duck
The rounded body ends without a noticeable projecting tail. Compare this outline and short bill with our Green-winged Teal guide. Young grebes can have boldly striped faces; that temporary pattern is different from an adult's breeding markings. [1]
Life history
How This Bird Lives
Where to look
Scan openings beside cattails or other emergent plants on quiet water. A grebe may be underwater during the first scan, so revisit the same patch before moving on. Winter birds also use larger lakes. [3]
Food & foraging
The short bill is a powerful tool for catching and crushing prey. Fish, crayfish, and many other aquatic animals are taken beneath the surface. A bird can dive abruptly or slip down so quietly that its disappearance is easy to miss. [2]
A nursery afloat
Both adults build a plant platform among wetland vegetation. They continue adding material during laying, enlarging the shallow bowl as needed. The surrounding plants help support and anchor the floating structure. [2]
Clutches contain 2–10 eggs, incubated for about 23–27 days. Downy chicks leave soon after hatching and ride on a parent's back during their first week. Watch from shore rather than approaching a nest through the reeds. [2]
Did you know?
A Closer Look at Pied-billed Grebes
Choosing how high to float
By trapping water in their plumage, grebes can alter buoyancy and settle nearly out of sight. A head showing at the surface may belong to a bird that was fully visible moments earlier. [3]
Feathers on the menu
Grebes swallow their own feathers and sometimes feed them to chicks. The feathers appear to help contain sharp prey remains and form pellets, rather than serving as ordinary food. [3]
Lobes rather than webs
The toes have individual lobes, unlike a duck's broadly webbed feet. Legs set far back on the body help with underwater propulsion but make walking on land awkward. [3]
Sources: [1] Cornell · Identification [2] Cornell · Life history [3] Cornell · Species overview
Range & Sightings
Seasonal Range
View Range Map ↗Recorded Observations
Observation records are not a complete seasonal range map.
iNaturalist observation map ↗