Little Grebe

Dark brown to blackish-brown upperparts, chestnut-red neck sides and cheeks. Prominent yellowish-white patch at the base of the bill (gape). Underparts brownish-white.

Overall paler and less contrasty. Upperparts grey-brown, throat whitish, flanks light brown to buff. The yellow gape patch is absent or very pale.

Head with characteristic black and white stripes. Body plumage brownish-grey. Bill yellowish with a dark tip.

Minimal; males are on average slightly larger and heavier than females, plumage is identical in both sexes.

Smallest European grebe. Dumpy shape with a conspicuously fluffy rear end ('powder-puff'). Yellow gape patch in breeding plumage. Often resembles a small floating ball.

Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) in non-breeding plumage (which has a steeper forehead and slightly upturned bill), Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus).

Short, straight, and pointed. Black with a pale tip in breeding plumage; more brownish-yellow in non-breeding plumage and juveniles.

A very loud, long-lasting, whinnying trill 'bibibibibibi', often performed as a duet by the pair and carrying far across the water.

A short, metallic 'whit' or 'bi-it' used as a warning or contact call.

Widespread in the Palearctic (Europe to Japan), Africa, and parts of South Asia. Occurs throughout Central Europe.

Winters in ice-free inland waters, rivers, or sheltered coastal areas within or south of the breeding range.

Resident in mild regions; short-distance migrant in colder areas. Moves to flowing waters or coasts when lakes freeze over.

Small, nutrient-rich standing waters (ponds, oxbow lakes, gravel pits) with well-developed marginal vegetation and submerged plants. Also on slow-flowing ditches.

Shallow water zones with abundant invertebrates and small fish, often near structural vegetation.

Floating nest made of decaying plant material (reeds, aquatic plants), usually anchored to marginal vegetation or overhanging branches.

Initially pure white, but quickly stain yellowish-brown to dark brown through contact with damp nesting material.

Both parents incubate and lead the young. The chicks are often carried on the parents' backs during the first few days.

Predominantly aquatic insects and their larvae (dragonflies, beetles, bugs), small crustaceans, mollusks, and occasionally tadpoles.

Increasing proportion of small fish (e.g., sticklebacks, gudgeons, small perch) alongside invertebrates.

Diving (usually 10-20 seconds deep), picking from the water surface, or searching through submerged plants.

Active underwater searching; uses dense vegetation as cover and hunting grounds.

Strictly territorial and solitary during the breeding season; more gregarious in winter, though it does not form large, stable flocks.

Loose aggregations possible at food-rich, ice-free waters in winter, but no coordinated flock movements.

Loss of small water bodies through drainage, disturbance from angling and recreational activities, eutrophication, predation by invasive species such as the American mink.

Stable; widespread in Germany with an estimated 15,000 to 27,000 breeding pairs (ADEBAR).

Protection and creation of small water bodies, preservation of reed and marginal vegetation, management of recreational activities at breeding sites.