Red-necked Grebe

Appearance

The Red-necked Grebe is a medium-large grebe, smaller than the Great Crested Grebe of Eurasia, and the Western and Clark's Grebes of North America. The adult of the nominate European subspecies is 40–50 cm long with a 77–85 cm average wingspan, and weighs 692–925 g. In breeding plumage, it has a black cap that extends below the eye, very pale grey cheeks and throat, a rusty red neck, dark grey back and flanks, and white underparts. The eyes are dark brown and the long, pointed bill is black with a yellow base.

The winter plumage of the Red-necked Grebe is duskier than that of other grebes; its dark grey cap is less defined, and merges into the grey face, and a pale crescent that curves around the rear of the face contrasts with the rest of the head. The front of the neck is whitish or light grey, the hind neck is darker grey, and the yellow of the bill is less obvious than in summer. Although the Red-necked Grebe is unmistakable in breeding plumage, it is less distinctive in winter and can be confused with similar species. It is larger than the Slavonian Grebe, with a relatively larger bill and a grey, rather than white face. It is closer in size to the Eurasian Great Crested Grebe, but that species is longer-necked, has a more contrasting head pattern, and always shows white above the eye.

The sexes are similar in appearance, although the male averages heavier than the female. Chicks have a striped head and breast, and older juveniles have a striped face, diffuse blackish cap, pale red neck and extensive yellow on the bill.

Status

The Red-necked grebe has a large range, estimated at 1–10 million square kilometres, and a global population of 150,000–370,000 individuals, with "P. g. holboellii" about twice as numerous as the nominate race. The population trend has not been quantified, but it is not believed to meet the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List. For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.