Podilymbus podiceps

Zaramago,
Zambullidor Menor

Audio 4
(M. Muller,
M. Oberle)

IDENTIFICATION: A duck-like waterbird, the Pied-billed Grebe in breeding plumage has a dark body, dark eye, and a white bill with a black stripe across it. When not in breeding plumage, the bill is plain gray or yellowish, without the black stripe. Length: 30-38 cm.; weight: 253-568 g.

VOICE: A variety of low-pitched, squawking, barking, or cackling notes, described as "kah kah kah." Audio 4 (M. Muller, M. Oberle).

HABITAT: Ponds, marshes, and canals.

HABITS: Dives for small fish, crustaceans, and insect larvae. It also dives to escape danger and can resurface a surprising distance away. The Pied-billed Grebe swallows some of its own feathers and creates a feather ball in the stomach, which is presumed to protect the stomach lining from fish bones. The nest is a mat of decaying vegetation, anchored in marsh grasses, and contains 5-6 eggs. Incubation period is 23-27 days. During the first week after hatching, chicks can drown if they stay in the water too long, so they often hitch a ride on a parentÆs back, sometimes even when the adult dives. Both parents brood the young during the first 3 weeks, and they feed the chicks for 4-10 weeks after hatching.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION: A common, permanent resident, freshwater bird in Puerto Rico. Protection of wetlands is essential for the species' survival. Introduced rats will swim to nests to take eggs.

RANGE: Nests from southern Canada through Central America and the Caribbean to southern South America. Typical locations in Puerto Rico are the marshes at the Humacao and Ca±o Tiburones nature reserves and the ponds at Dorado Beach and Rφomar.

TAXONOMY: PODICIPEDIFORMES; PODICIPEDIDAE

References

Bent, A.C. 1919. Life histories of North American diving birds. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 107. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1963).

del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal, eds. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 1. Ostrich to ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Konter, A. 2001. Grebes of our world. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Muller, M.J. and R.W. Storer. 1999. Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps). No. 410 in The birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Pied-billed Grebe, Spanish text

Next species in the taxonomic order

Previous related species in the taxonomic order

Back to Species Selection Page Menu

Return to first page of the CD-ROM