Red-necked grebe

Description

The red-necked grebe ( Podiceps grisegena ) is a species of podicipediforme bird of the family Podicipedidae own of Eurasia and North America.It is a migratory bird that breeds in northern regions of the Holarctic,and spends the winter on the coasts of calm waters,although it can also spend the winter in the large lakes.The loons prefer breeding grounds for shallow waters of freshwater lakes with dense surrounding vegetation.The red-necked grebe is a large medium-sized grebe.It is smaller than the Great Crested Grebe of Eurasia,and that of the western and Clark archichiliques of North America.Adults European nominal subspecies are between 40 and 50 cm long,with a wingspan of 77-85 cm,and weighs 925 g 692 to.Its reproductive plumage consists of a pileuswhich extends to below the eye,cheeks and throat of light gray color,reddish-brown neck,back and flanks of dark gray color and white underparts.Its eyes are dark brown and have a long,pointed beak,blackish with yellow base sides.The winter plumage of the red-necked grebe is darker than that of other loons,it is grayish dark in the upper parts and white in the lower ones.The top of its dark gray head is less defined and contrasts with the rest of its gray face,especially with the clear half moon on the back of the head.Both sexes look similar,although males tend to be more robust.The chickens have their heads and chests listed,and the juveniles have lists on their faces,the diffuse black pileus,the light reddish neck,and the larger yellow area at the beak.Although the red-necked grebe is unmistakable with its reproductive plumage,in winter it can be confused with other similar species.It is larger than the red-necked grebe,with a longer beak,and its face is more gray than white.In size it is close to the great crested grebe,but the latter has the longest neck,and has a more contrasted head color pattern,and always has a white area above the eye.The subspecies P.g.holboelii is larger than the nominal subspecies,with its 43-56 cm long,its wingspan of 61-88 cm,and its weight of 750-1600 g.Its plumage is the same as that of the nominal,but at the peak of its adults the yellow zone extends on the side almost to the tip.The difference between sexes is more pronounced in this subspecies than in P.g.grisegena.The red-necked grebes fly with their neck stretched and their legs hanging from the back,which makes them look ungainly.Beat very fast its relatively small wings,which are gray with white secondary feathers.Its small wing surface makes it unable to take off from the ground,and needs a long run through the surface of the water to propel itself before taking off.Like all his relatives,the red-necked grebe is an excellent swimmer.It uses its legs to propel itself under water and also to change direction,since its tail is too short for it.During the breeding season it is one of the noisiest loons,but like the others it is very quiet the rest of the year.It emits high and ululating calls of type uooooh,realized alone or in couple,at night and during the day,normally realized being to cover.They broadcast long sequences of up to 60 consecutive notes in their territorial disputes with rivals.In addition,they emit a great variety of squawks,clicks,hisses and clatters,with great individual variation.