The Pied-billed Grebe is a small, dumpy, brown waterbird that acts more like a submarine than a duck. Rather than fly or dive headfirst to escape danger, it can slowly sink straight down until only its head shows above the surface, then disappear entirely — a trick that earned it folk names like "hell-diver" and "water witch." In breeding plumage it sports a pale, chunky bill crossed by a single black ring, unlike the thin bills of other grebes.
It lives on quiet, weedy marshes, ponds, and backwaters, where it dives for fish, crayfish, and aquatic insects, using its lobed toes rather than webbed feet to propel itself underwater. Pied-billed Grebes breed across Michigan on vegetated wetlands, building floating nests anchored to marsh plants, and their loud, whinnying, cuckoo-like call is often the first sign one is present. Secretive and easily overlooked, they thin out as marshes freeze, with only a few lingering on open water.
Dives for fish, crayfish, aquatic insects, and amphibians, and its stout bill lets it crush hard-shelled crayfish and crustaceans. Like other grebes it habitually eats its own feathers, which are thought to protect the stomach and aid in casting up indigestible parts.
That rolling, cuckoo-like series that speeds into a whinny is usually a Pied-billed Grebe. The call carries across wetlands and often reveals a bird that is otherwise staying hidden in the reeds.
A Pied-billed Grebe can compress its feathers and expel air to reduce its buoyancy, sinking slowly beneath the surface with barely a ripple. This "crash-diving" helps it avoid predators.
No. Grebes are not ducks — they are a separate group with lobed (not webbed) toes, a pointed bill, and legs set far back on the body for diving, which makes them awkward on land.
Chicks have boldly striped black-and-white heads and often ride on a parent's back, sometimes even while the adult dives. The adult's black bill ring is a breeding-season feature and disappears in winter.
A raft. Pied-billed Grebes are more solitary than most, so a raft of them is unusual and generally means good feeding on a productive marsh.
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