Least Grebe Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A very small, compact waterbird. Shaped like a tiny duck but with a short, pointed bill. The body is small and chunky, with a slender neck and a small head.

  Relative Size

  Slightly larger than a Sora; smaller than a Pied-billed Grebe.

  between robin and crow

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 8.7-10.6 in (22-27 cm)
    • Weight: 2.9-6.4 oz (81-182 g)

  © Christoph Moning / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Breeding adults are steely gray with a darker crown, a purple-gray sheen to the face and neck, golden yellow eyes, and wispy whitish flanks and tail feathers. The bill is dark. Nonbreeding adults are duller, with a paler bill and whitish throat. Juveniles are similar to nonbreeding adults, with vague stripes on the face.

• Behavior

  Picks insects and small vertebrates from the water surface, from aquatic vegetation, or by diving. Hides in floating vegetation by submerging the body, leaving only the head and bill above water. Pairs often give a trilling duet.
• Habitat

  Freshwater and some brackish wetlands, especially small freshwater ponds and lakes, usually with a combination of open water and emergent vegetation. Over its large range, also found in ditches, mangrove swamps, mountain lakes, and slow-moving rivers.