The Horned Grebe is a small, elegant diving waterbird that wears two very different looks. In breeding plumage it is spectacular — a rich rufous neck and flanks, a glossy black head, and a spray of golden-buff feathers ("horns") flaring back from behind bright red eyes. Most Michiganders, though, see it in its crisp nonbreeding plumage: a tidy black cap and white cheeks and neck, with the same startling red eye. Either way it rides low in the water and dives smoothly to hunt.
Horned Grebes breed on prairie and boreal wetlands to the north and west, and in Michigan they occur mainly as migrants on lakes and Great Lakes bays in spring and fall, with some wintering on open water. Like other grebes they have lobed toes and legs set far back for diving, and they pursue small fish and aquatic invertebrates underwater. Their neat winter plumage and glowing red eyes make them a favorite find on cold-season lake watches.
Dives to catch small fish and aquatic invertebrates such as insects and crustaceans, pursuing them underwater with strong strokes of its lobed feet. Like other grebes it swallows some of its own feathers, thought to protect the stomach lining and aid digestion.
In breeding plumage the Horned Grebe has tufts of golden-buff feathers flaring back from behind the eyes, which look like little horns and give the bird its name. In nonbreeding plumage these are absent and the bird looks black-and-white.
In winter it is a small, crisp black-and-white grebe with a flat crown, a small straight bill, and a red eye. The Pied-billed Grebe is browner with a chunky ringed bill, and the Red-necked Grebe is larger with a yellowish bill.
Mainly during migration in spring and fall on lakes and Great Lakes bays, with some birds wintering on open water. It does not breed in the state.
The rufous neck and golden ear tufts are breeding plumage, mostly worn on the Arctic breeding grounds. Birds here are usually in crisp black-and-white winter plumage; juveniles are similar with a dingier neck.
A raft. Migrating Horned Grebes gather in loose rafts on the Great Lakes in spring and fall, often alongside scaup and Bufflehead.
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