- Poliocephalus poliocephalus
Identification
27–30·5 cm (10½-12 in)
Adult Breeding
- Brownish-grey above
- Whitish below
- Grey upper breast
- Brownish-grey flanks
- Grey-brown forehead darkening towards black hindcrown and nape
- Whitish streaks over head and cheeks give hoary appearance
- Black chin
- Usually pale yellowish-white iris
- Black bill with white tip
- Olive-green legs
Adult Non-breeding
Generally duller and greyer, streaking on head much reduced but dark cap retained
Juvenile
Similar to non-breeding adult but with indistinctly striped face.
Flight
Broad white trailing edge to secondaries on upperwing which continues across most of the primaries.
Distribution
Southern half of Australia and Tasmania.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Lakes, reservoirs and large swamps.
Behaviour
Breeding
Breeds November-January or after rains. Nest is a floating heap of vegetation. Eggs: 3-5 (sometimes 6), greenish-white to pale blue initially. Incubation takes 20-25 days.
Diet
They have a wide diet consisting of invertebrates, such as water beetles, caddis flies, arachnids and damselflies. They also take some small fish occasionally.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Llimona, F., J. del Hoyo, D. A. Christie, F. Jutglar, and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Hoary-headed Grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.hohgre1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Hoary-headed Grebe. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Hoary-headed_Grebe
