Life List 075
Visually documented
Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podiceps
- First photographed
- June 23, 2026
- First location
- Utah, United States
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
An evolving study
Pied-billed Grebe portfolio
This collection grows as I return to photograph new behavior, habitat, seasons, and stages of life.
Natural history
Species at a glance
Podilymbus podiceps
Overview
The Pied-billed Grebe is a compact, secretive waterbird that can slowly sink until little more than its head remains above water. It builds a floating nest anchored among emergent plants.
Identification
Small and brown with a blocky head, almost no visible tail, and a thick pale bill marked by a black band in breeding plumage. Unlike many grebes, it shows no conspicuous white wing patch in flight.
Range
Widespread across much of North and South America. Northern populations migrate to open water farther south, while many southern birds remain resident.
Habitat
Ponds, marshes, sheltered lake edges, slow rivers, and reservoirs with open water interspersed with dense emergent vegetation.
Diet
Aquatic insects, crayfish, small fish, snails, frogs, and other small aquatic animals.
Photography by Brittany Templin
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