Grebes are medium to small sized waterbirds. Though they looks like waterfowls and cormorants, they have much more interesting things to look at.
First, let's look at their history. The first relatives of grebes formed around 67 million years ago in the late cretaceous. It was known as Telmatornis. The first grebes formed in Early Miocene at around 23 - 25 million years ago. Thiornis and Pliolymbus are some examples for the first grebes.
Another interesting fact about grebes is their relationship with flamingoes. At first, it was said that there closest relatives are loons. But recent researchers have found out that they are more related to flamingoes than for loons. It's because they have more common features which aren't present in other birds.
Let's take look at their physical features. Most unusual part of their body is their feet. Unlike other waterbirds who swim using webs made of skin between their toes, grebes have two lobes in the sides of each toe.
Now let's move on to their behaviours. Their diet consists of small crustaceans, small mollusks, small oceanic insects and small fish. Unlike other waterbirds, they don't fly away if they sense a threat. What they do is dive deep under water and stay inside for sometime and when the threat is gone it'll resurface somewhere else. When breeding, they create a floating nest on the water made by using aquatic plants and sticks and lay clutch of about 4 eggs.
The largest grebe is the Great Grebe (Podiceps major) and the smallest grebe is the Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus). Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) is the only grebe species that can be seen in Sri Lanka. Other examples for grebes are Great Crested Grebe
Comments