Facts about the Australasian crested grebe
What does it look like?
The Australasian crested grebe has a fine, sharp bill, slender neck and head with a distinctive black double crest. Cheeks have chestnut frills, fringed black.
Where is it found?
At least 100 South Island lakes once had grebes but there have been ongoing declines in Marlborough, on the West Coast and in Fiordland. Only Canterbury and Otago remain as strongholds. It is estimated that between 300 and 400 widely-dispersed birds remain in the South Island of New Zealand and they are fully protected.
Grebe facts
- Māori call the birds kāmana, and regard them as taonga/treasure.
- Grebes live on alpine and sub-alpine lakes throughout the year, although some migrate to Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa on Banks Peninsula for winter.
- They live on lakes of various sizes but require vegetation along the lake margins for nesting and shelter from rough weather. Floating nests are attached to submerged vegetation.
- They breed from September to March. Pairs are formed through elaborate ritualised courtship and mating displays for which the grebes have become renowned. They are monogamous and sustain their pair bonds throughout the year.
- Clutch size ranges from one to seven eggs. Incubation and parental care of young is shared, with chicks often carried on their parent's back. They swim and dive after one week but don't become independent until they are 11 weeks old.
- Their legs are set well back on their bodies to enhance their diving skills, at the expense of mobility on land. For this reason, the birds rarely, if ever, come ashore.
- They feed on small fish, insects and water weeds. Feathers are swallowed to prevent bones passing into the gut and are regurgitated periodically.
Contacts
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