Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) [XC884145]
by Martin Billard from Rochefort, Namur, Wallonie, Belgium (nocturnal flight call)
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) [XC884228]
by Rafael Costas from Feuguerolles-Bully (Feuguerolles bourg), Calvados, Normandie, France (flight call, nocturnal flight call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia.
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Nest
A pile of water-weed, usually surrounded by water, and always grounded on or anchored to aquatic vegatation. Sometimes in small groups. The eggs are covered with vegatation when left unattended.
Eggs (Guide)
1 - 8, usually 4 - 6; white, but soon stained reddish by damp weed; ellipsoidal; 33 - 39 x 24 - 30 mm. Incubation: about 24 days; by both sexes. Usually 2 - 3 broods.
Young
Covered with blackish-brown down with rufous streaks. Fledge in about 45 days. They leave the nest within a few hours and can swim almost immediately. They are fed by both sexes, but become independent in about 30 - 40 days.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) and Alaotra Grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus), both of which have been considered subspecies of present species.
Hybridization with Alaotra Grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus) is extensive and occasionally with Madagascar Grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii). Validity of subspecies vulcanorum doubtful.
The following 10 subspecies are recognised:
ruficollis (Pallas, 1764) - Europe east to Urals, north-western Africa.
tricolor (G. R. Gray, 1861) - Sulawesi to Seram and northern New Guinea; Lombok to Timor. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Tricolored Grebe (Tachybaptus tricolor).
vulcanorum (Rensch, 1929) - Java to Timor. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Tricolored Grebe (Tachybaptus tricolor).
collaris (Mayr, 1945) - North-eastern New Guinea to Bougainville I (Solomon Is). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Tricolored Grebe (Tachybaptus tricolor).
albescens (Blanford, 1877) - Caucasus to Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Similar Species
Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) which has a yellow eye and less rufous on the neck when in breeding plumage.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet