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Eared or Horned Grebe? (eclipse plumage, Lake Tahoe, NV) (1 Viewer)

T

Terry O'Nolley

Cow-headed Jaybird
Saw this grebe a long way off and couldn't tell if it was an Eared Grebe or a Horned Grebe.

The pics are quite small - the birds were a LONG way off (I shot these with a 300mm lens).

Anyone have an idea?
 

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Terry O'Nolley said:
Saw this grebe a long way off and couldn't tell if it was an Eared Grebe or a Horned Grebe.

The pics are quite small - the birds were a LONG way off (I shot these with a 300mm lens).

Anyone have an idea?
Click to expand...

Looks to be Horned
 
I was thinking Horned because the white neck looks so clean and sharply defined but I'm really not sure how variable the Eared Grebe's plumage can be.

(This reply is mainly a bump - I'd like to hear what others have to say)
 
don't know the american names but for my money these are nigricollis, not auritus. At long range, or in poor photos, structure of the head is as good a pointer as any. These birds' crowns peak above or in front of the eye. In auritus the crown peaks at the back of the head
 
Again difficult to be sure, but I would agree with nigricollis ie Eared Grebe. The heads look very round, as does the jizz of the body. Their is no hint of white in front of the eye which I would expect in Horned - which also look flatter headed and bodied.
 
James Lowther said:
don't know the american names but for my money these are nigricollis, not auritus. At long range, or in poor photos, structure of the head is as good a pointer as any. These birds' crowns peak above or in front of the eye. In auritus the crown peaks at the back of the head
Click to expand...
This thread has made me realize how absurd the north american names are for these two birds.

Podiceps means grebe
P. auritus means literally, eared grebe, but in NA we call it horned grebe
P. nigricollis means literally, black-necked grebe, but in NA we call it eared grebe

No wonder I always get these two mixed up.

Scott
 
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