White-tufted Grebe
A species of White-tufted and Titicaca Grebes Scientific name : Rollandia rolland Genus : White-tufted and Titicaca Grebes
White-tufted Grebe, A species of White-tufted and Titicaca Grebes
Botanical name: Rollandia rolland
Genus: White-tufted and Titicaca Grebes
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Rollandia_rolland_-Falklands-8.jpg , used under CC-BY-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
The male and female white-tufted grebe look alike and are between 27 and 35 cm (11 and 14 in) in length. Adults in breeding plumage have a prominent black crest on the back of their heads. There is a large white tuft of feathers around the ear but otherwise the head, neck and back are black, with a slight greenish sheen, and the feathers of the mantle and back are narrowly bordered with brown. The underparts are a dull reddish-brown, often mottled with brown or grey. The secondary wing feathers are white, pale grey or have white tips. The eye is red, the beak black and the legs grey or olive-brown. Adults in non-breeding plumage are dark brown rather than black. The crest becomes inconspicuous, the sides of the head and throat are white and the white wing patches are retained. The neck and chest are buff, gradually paling to white on the belly. Immature birds resemble adults in non-breeding plumage but their throats and the sides of their necks have brown streaking. 
Size
36 cm
Feeding Habits
White-tufted Grebe's diet primarily consists of fish and various large arthropods. Stomach content analysis from the Peruvian highlands shows a diet rich in amphipods, chironomids, and small fish, with a significant proportion of diet by mass composed of fish, especially in certain lakes. White-tufted Grebe generally forages from the surface or undertakes feeding dives averaging 18 seconds. It can be found foraging in large groups during the dry season and forms flocks in sheltered areas post-breeding.
Habitat
The white-tufted Grebe predominantly inhabits a variety of wetland ecosystems, ranging from marshy ponds, lakes, and ditches to slow-moving rivers. It favors environments that provide a shallow water mixture of dense aquatic vegetation and open areas, and is also known to frequent the densely vegetated shores of more expansive water bodies. While it is generally common at high altitudes within the puna region, between 3500 to 4500 meters above sea level, it is not rare to find white-tufted Grebe in coastal settings, such as protected bays and fjords, particularly in the southern extremes of its range. Post-breeding, some populations migrate northwards along the coast, forming flocks that inhabit bays and other sheltered marine areas.
Dite type
Piscivorous
General Info
Distribution Area
The white-tufted grebe is found in the southern part of South America. Its range includes south-eastern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Argentina and the Falkland Islands. It occurs as a vagrant in the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia. Its typical habitat is lakes, marshy ponds, ditches and slow-moving streams. Birds in the southern part of the range form into flocks after the breeding season and migrate northwards up the coast. These are often seen in bays and other sheltered marine locations.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
