Cooperative Living February 2020 - 32

FeatheredFriends | Story and artwork by Carl " Spike " Knuth, Contributing Columnist
Pied-billed Grebe
I
t's somewhat of a mystery bird, with a
bill that looks too big for its head and
body, and nearly no tail.
It's an extraordinary diver and
swimmer, with the ability to slip out of
sight beneath the surface of the water
while sitting motionless. Occasionally,
it will surface with only its bill and eyes
above water amid aquatic vegetation. An
onlooker might be fooled into thinking
that it is still underwater.
The pied-billed grebe is a member of
an unusual group of diving birds classed
in the order pygopodes. The name
originates from two Greek words
meaning " rump " and " foot, " an allusion
to the location of its legs in relation to
the rest of its body.
The grebe's tibia (drumstick) is
located beneath skin and feathers, which
brings its heel joint close to its tail.
With its legs so far back, the grebe has
difficulty on land and walks almost
penguin-like, pushing itself on its belly.
SINKIN' PETER
Because of its abilities it is often called
helldiver, water witch or dabchick.
Down around the Back Bay of Virginia,
it is known to locals as the " Sinkin'
Peter " because of its ability to sink out
of sight and make runs over the water
to get airborne. There is even a road
in Virginia Beach named after it:
Witchduck Road.
The grebe surely would not win any
beauty contest. It is a little more than
a foot long and its color is basically
brownish black above, lighter brown
to creamy white below, with brownish
wings, a whitish speculum and fluffy
white undertail coverts.
Both sexes look alike and the only
differences in plumage are seasonal. In
winter the grebe has a white chin and
unmarked bill. In spring and summer,
the bird acquires a full black patch on
its chin and throat with a wide black
band around its bill.
It has a dense, smooth, fur-like
covering of feathers over a body that is
30 | Cooperative Living | February 2020
co-opliving.com
It walks
almost entirely encased
in fat. The wings of the
grebe are short and in
flight its oversized feet hang
out behind. It seldom takes
flight when startled, preferring to dive
with amazing quickness. While
underwater, it propels itself by big feet
with flattened lobed toes.
almost penguinlike,
pushing
itself on its
belly.
like a pile of marsh debris. The
nest is almost always damp with
eggs being water-covered at times.
Once the young hatch, they take
to the water immediately, and are able
to swim and dive readily.
GREBE BREEDING
During breeding the grebe is shy and
secretive but you will hear it calling
from its marshy abode. Its call is often
used as background sound in movies
associated with swamps or jungles.
The pied-billed is the most widely
distributed of grebes breeding over
almost all of the continental United
States and most of Canada. It favors
large cattail or reed and bulrush-edged
freshwater marshes.
Its nest is a matted, floating structure
made of dead grasses, reeds, rushes,
mud and other vegetable matter. Live
green stems are added for buoyancy and
to anchor the nest to growing reeds or
rushes. About six to nine greenish-white
eggs are laid in the platform-like nest.
When leaving her nest, the female
will pull up or over soggy vegetation to
cover the eggs and nest-making it look
Sometimes the hen carries the fuzzy
black, white-striped young on her back,
often diving with them when
threatened. Their main foods include
aquatic beetles, insect larvae, leeches,
fishes, frogs and crayfish.
Grebes consume a considerable
amount of feathers and feed their
young feathers, apparently to aid in
digestion.
So this late winter and early spring,
look for them on small lakes, ponds,
and park lagoons or in coves and
bays. 
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living February 2020

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