Podiceps auritus
Length: 12-15 Weight: 0.5-1.5 lbs
Identification:
Rounded black head with red eye. In breeding season, rufous neck with tufts of yellow/orange feathers behind eye, and rufous sides. In winter, black and white, distinguished by smooth head and relatively slim body.
Distribution:
Breed in northwestern and central United States and Canada. Winter along the California coast and southeastern United States.
Cool Facts:
Horned Grebes frequently eat their own feathers and even feed feathers to their chicks, forming a feather ball in their stomach. This may act as a filter, or hold fish bones in the stomach long enough to be digested.
Although there is a similar species named the Eared Grebe, it is the Horned Grebe that bears the scientific name auritus , Latin for “having long ears,” a reference to the fanciful head tufts of this bird.
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References:
Bird on the Move 