Horned Grebe - Podiceps auritus
Horned Grebe - Podiceps auritus
General Description
Basic plumage is black & white with salty gray crown bordering white cheeks that extend in rather straight lines behind the eyes. Neck is whitish, flanks are chestnut, crown and back are blackish and belly dingy white. (Stedman, 2000)
Distribution
Montana Range
Migration
Normal Bozeman area migration: 4/21-6/1 & 9/8-11/20; peak periods in spring and fall 4/26 & 11/3.
Habitat
Breeding Range is on shallow freshwater ponds an marshes with beds of emergent vegetation, especially sedges, rushes and cattails. In spring and fall the Horned Grebe is mainly on large sized bodies of water, including rivers and small lakes. The winter range is large sized bodies of fresh and more commonly salt water usually inshore. (Stedman, 2000)
Food Habits
The Horned Grebe feeds on aquatic arthropods in the summer, & fish and crustaceans in winter, especially amphipods, crayfish, and polychaetes.. (Stedman, 2000)
Reproductive Characteristics
The Horned Grebe selects small ponds and lake inlets containing a mixture of emergent vegetation and open water. The floating nest is usually concealed in the vegetation. The Horned Grebe is intensely territorial and usually nests alone or occasionally in small colonies. The young are fed and warmed by a parent for a few days after hatching. (Stedman, 2000)