Western Grebe (Aechmorphorus occidentalis)

2025-01-25

The Western Grebe (Family: Podicipedidae, Order: Podicipediformes) is a medium sized aquatic bird, with a slender long neck and a long bill. The back of the grebe is black, and its throat is white. Particularily impressive are the ruby-red eyes of the grebe.

2025-01-25

The upper half of the face of western grebe is black and that extends to below the eye. The bill of the western grebe has a greenish tinge to it than the Clark's grebe's (Aechmophorus clarkii).

Lake Mendocino, CA
2008-02-04

The photo shows the grebe diving into the water. It stays into the water for a few minutes and it is not easy to predict where it will come up above the water surface. The grebes (Podicipedidae) are more capable of swimming than flying.

Other Podicipedidae species:

Acorn Woodpecker• American Coot• American Crow• American Robin• American White Ibis• American White Pelican• Anhinga• Audubon's Warbler• Black Phoebe• Black-Capped Chickadee• Blue Jay• Boat-Tailed Grackle• Brewer's Blackbird• Brown Pelican• Bufflehead• Canada Goose• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee• Collared-Dove• Common Gallinule• Common Goldeneye• Common Grackle• Double-Crested Cormorant• Downy Woodpecker• European Starling• Fox Sparrow• Glossy Ibis• Golden-Crowned Sparrow• Graylag Goose• **Great Blue Heron• Great Egret• Herring Gull• House Sparrow• **Killdeer• Least Bittern• Least Sandpiper• Lesser Goldfinch• Limpkin• Lincoln's Sparrow• Mallard• Mourning Dove• Northern Cardinal• Northern Mockingbird• Oak Titmouse• Osprey• Palm Warbler• Pied-Billed Grebe• Purple Finch• Red-Bellied Woodpecker• Red-Breasted Nuthatch• Red-Winged Blackbird• Ring-Billed Gull• Ringed Plover• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet• Sanderling• Sandhill Crane• Semipalmated Sandpiper• Sharp-Shinned Hawk• Short-Tailed Hawk• Snowy Egret• Song Sparrow• Spotted Towhee• Steller's Jay• Tricolored Heron• Trumpeter Swan• Tufted Titmouse• Turkey Vulture• Western Grebe• Western Gull• Western Meadowlark• Western Scrub Jay• **Western Swamphen• White-Breasted Nuthatch• White-Crowned Sparrow• Wild Turkey• Willet• Wood Stork