Least Grebe

Fascinating facts about the Least Grebe

• At just 21-27 cm long and 112-180 g heavy, the least grebe is the tiniest grebe on the planet, even the biggest individuals are still lighter than any other member of the family. In Panama males average 129 g while females are only 116 g, but West Indies birds tip the scales at 161 g for males and 133 g for females, showing a clear regional size gradient.
• The least grebe's breeding range stretches from the southwestern United States and Mexico all the way down to Argentina, with island populations on Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles. This New World distribution makes it the only Tachybaptus species found in the Americas, while its four relatives stay in the Old World and Australasia.
• Least grebes build floating nests anchored to rooted plants in water up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) deep, using a compact bundle of aquatic weeds. The female lays three to six white eggs, which are quickly stained brown by the damp nest material. Both parents share incubation duties until the chicks hatch after 21 days, and the striped fledglings are sometimes carried on the adult's back.
• Outside the breeding season the least grebe is mostly solitary or in pairs, but it can gather in flocks of 20 or more when not nesting. This flexible social structure lets the birds exploit temporary water bodies for breeding raptors such as bat falcons and golden eagles that are known to take adult grebes.
• When hunting, the least grebe spends an average of 12.5 seconds underwater per dive, resurfacing after pauses that can range from 2 to 24 seconds. small fish, crustaceans, frogs and insects.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Least Grebe

In the serene expanses of freshwater wetlands, the Least Grebe glides with effortless elegance, its tiny, slate-grey form leaving barely a ripple on the glassy surface. As it paddles through the aquatic vegetation, its bright, inquisitive eyes darting back and forth, this diminutive bird exudes a sense of quiet confidence, its very presence a testament to the beauty of understated simplicity. With a soft, whistled call, the Least Grebe navigates its domain, a master of the subtle, unseen world that thrives just beneath the water's edge.

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