Pied-billed Grebe display
I’ve spent a lot of time in the field since 1970, both as a birder and as a bird photographer, but I’ve never experienced this behavior before. I only became aware of it when I saw a similar photograph by Ron Dudley of Utah late in 2008. Ron also has photographed this same behavior in Western Grebe as well. If I hadn’t been aware of the action from Ron’s photo I might have easily missed this opportunity as it didn’t last long and wasn’t repeated.
My assumption is that its part of a mating display, although there wasn’t another grebe close by when I saw this on 02/27/09 just before 8:00 AM. But I’m curious and would like to hear from anyone with more knowledge of what is going on and any references to articles or books that explain it.
Pied-billed Grebe display
These two images are part of a sequence of a Pied-billed Grebe from the Gilbert Water Water near Phoenix, AZ. PBGR is seen year round at the Water Ranch, sometimes in small groups of 5-6 birds but more often as 1 or 2. The light is a bit harsh and that effects image quality to some extent, as does the 50% crop of each image. But I’m delighted to have captured this display.
Please comment if you know more about this behavior and provide citations to published literature on it if available.
Here’s the definitive answer from the leading expert on grebes, who I was able to contact after a blog reader provided details:
This is a very easy question! The photos show “full body stretch”, which is part of the comfort behaviour, often performed after preening, when is alone and relaxed.
The “primitive” grebes (genera Rollandia, Tachybaptus, Podilymbus and Poliocephalus) do this with wings raised over the back but folded, while members of Aechmophorus and Podiceps even stretch the wings. In my book “The Grebes” (Oxford Univ. Press, 2004; I think this has been scanned by Google and is available on the internet) Fig. 8.3. shows the full body stretch of Podiceps cristatus.
Best regards
Jon Fjeldså
