Pied-billed Grebe Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesPied-billed Grebe
Breeding adult
Small, chunky waterbird with a blocky head, short, thick bill, and almost no tail. Breeding birds have a vertical black stripe on the bill.
© Brad Imhoff / Macaulay LibraryOhio, March 26, 2020Nonbreeding adult/immature
Small waterbird with a short, thick bill and almost no tail. Nonbreeding birds have a brownish neck and lack the black bill stripe.
© Jared Keyes / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 09, 2019Nonbreeding
Propels itself rather quickly with its lobed feet across flat or sluggish water bodies.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryKansas, November 04, 1995Not all videos have sound
Breeding adult
Can adjust their buoyancy to float with just the upper half of the head above the water.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 11, 2020Nonbreeding adult/immature
They have lobed feet to help propel them underwater.
© Kim Beardmore / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, February 28, 2017Nonbreeding adult/immature
Some nonbreeding birds have more cinnamon coloring on the neck.
© Van Remsen / Macaulay LibraryLouisiana, December 24, 2017Breeding adult
Breeds in quiet ponds and marshes with wetland vegetation.
© Ann Shiller / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, June 04, 2017Breeding adult and juvenile
Forages in slow moving waters with aquatic vegetation. Juveniles accompany adults for several weeks.
© Jeff Schaberg / Macaulay LibraryTexas, June 23, 2016Similar SpeciesLeast Grebe
Breeding adult
Least Grebes are smaller with thinner bills than Pied-billed Grebes, which have a thick and stubby bill. Least Grebes have yellow eyes while Pied-billed Grebes have a dark eye.
© Aurelio Molina Hernández / Macaulay LibraryVeracruz, July 15, 2017Similar SpeciesHorned Grebe
Nonbreeding
Horned Grebes have a thinner bill than Pied-billed Grebes. Nonbreeding Horned Grebes have white on the chest and face whereas Pied-billed Grebes are brownish overall without white patches.
© Tim Kleman / Macaulay LibraryOhio, March 18, 2017Similar SpeciesEared Grebe
Nonbreeding
Nonbreeding Eared Grebes have a white patch on the back of the head and a whitish neck whereas Pied-billed Grebes are brownish overall and lack white patches. Note bill size differences; thin on Eared and stubby on Pied-billed.
© Charmaine Anderson / Macaulay LibraryOntario, January 16, 2017Similar SpeciesGreen-winged Teal
Female/nonbreeding male
Green-winged Teals have flatter, longer bills and bigger heads than Pied-billed Grebes.
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay LibraryMaine, September 21, 2011Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Grebes(Order: Podicipediformes, Family: Podicipedidae)
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