Introduction to Bird Order Podicipediformes

Copyright: Tracy J. Thomas
Twenty species of Grebes make up the Family Podicipedidae in the Bird Order Podicipediformes. These small to medium sized diving birds are found in waters throughout the world with the exception of Antarctica. Grebes share many similar characteristics with Loons, though they occur in more diverse aquatic habitats including large lakes, flooded scrubland, roadside ditches and coastal bays.

Fossilized remains for the order Podicipediformes were discovered from the Cretaceous period of some 80 million years ago. The modern day grebe seems to have evolved more than 30 million years ago during the Oligocene epoch.

Physically, the grebe can be distinguished by short wings, legs that are set back with lobed toes, sharp and pointed bills, long necks and little tail. Grebes, like loons walk poorly on land due to the positioning of their legs which are set to the back to aid in swimming and diving for prey. Their lobed toes with highly flexible joints serve them well for propulsion and steering underwater. Sleek bodies and dense bones allow them to dive down to depths as deep as 90 feet. Grebes typically forage for food near the water’s surface and dive for aquatic invertebrates such as insects and crayfish, small fish, aquatic vegetation and amphibians. Peculiarly, the grebe ingests a large number of their own feathers, believed to protect their stomachs from puncture wounds by bones and hard items entering their intestines...read more