Clark's grebe is a North American species in the grebe family. Until the 1980s, it was thought to be a pale morph of the western grebe, which it resembles in size, range, and behavior. Intermediates between the two species are known.
The "Clark" of its common name—and its specific epithet ''clarkii''—honors John Henry Clark, a 19th-century American surveyor who was also a naturalist and collector. The genus name ''Aechmophorus'' comes from the Ancient Greek words "aichme", meaning.. more
Similar species: Grebes
By Thibaud Aronson
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Uploaded Aug 28, 2019. Captured Aug 24, 2019 17:32 in 3512 Michelson Dr, Irvine, CA 92612, USA.
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EDIT: Aha! It's even more interesting, they do it to preserve heat!
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2012/10/07/western-grebes-a-bizarre-behavior-finally-explained/ Posted 6 years ago, modified 6 years ago
https://fabearlybirder.blogspot.com/2013/07/stretching-legs.html
http://www.reinhold-necker.de/seite11a.html
but the grebe seems to be a lot more flexible :-D Posted 6 years ago, modified 6 years ago
Grebes have some fascinating features that make them unique when compared to other water birds. First, their legs are attached to their bodies at their rear, rather than underneath. Second, their toes are lobed, instead of being webbed. Having legs attached at the rear makes them really efficient swimmers, while their lobed toes are like the hydrofoil blades of a propeller! While this is all very interesting, grebes perform a contortionist maneuver that is completely awesome, yet silly-looking: They stick their legs out, up in the air, behind their bodies. Yes – that is the grebe’s leg and foot sticking out in the photo! They leave their leg sticking out for a few seconds, shake the water off, and then lift their leg up and backwards to tuck it underneath a wing. This trick, called “foot-shipping” would be impossible to perform if their legs were attached under their bodies. Why do they tuck their legs under their wings? They do it to prevent body heat from being lost. Their legs stay warm under their wings, and they can rotate legs as the other one gets cold. {Clark’s Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkia) spotted in California, USA by JungleDragon moderator, Thibaud Aronson} #JungleDragon
They also have a pretty amazing mating ritual, as seen in this video: Posted 6 years ago