90 Horned Grebe

• A group of Grebes are called a; Water Dance.
• We found this one in a pond with 3 of the other types of Grebes.  It gets its name from the feathers behind the eyes that it can puff up to make it look intimidating. Add in those red eyes and yes it is a scary sight.
• Like all grebes they have bulbous toes instead of webbed feet.  It is a very good swimmer.
• Its nests are made of floating material that it attaches to reeds or cattails.  They lay 3-9 eggs.  Often they are seen with their chicks riding on their backs.  A common thing for Grebes and Loons.
• These birds will stay late in the fall until the pond is frozen over, then fly south.
• They eat crustaceans, insects, fish amphibians, and some aquatic plants.  It eats some of its own feathers, probably to help carry out bones from the gut.
• This is a very cautious bird.  In Blackfeet lore the Old Man Trickster would put to sleep the ducks then kill them but not the Horned Grebe he saw through this trick and warned the other birds.  Cool story.