eBirders! Take care with identification of non-breeding Aussie Grebe & Hoary-headed Grebe

[Kim Farley via Canberrabirds <>]

Hi all 

As the weather cools, our local Australasian and Hoary-headed Grebes are losing the features we associate with breeding.This makes identification more difficult. There are also a fair few immature birds about and these cause identification troubles too. 

To help eBirders, and in summary, if a small grebe doesn't have the bright yellow patch of bare skin at the gape of the bill and has a grey head and neck, it doesn't mean it is a Hoary-head. It could be a non-breeding Aussie or an immature Aussie. 

And for more detail, use your binoculars to look for:

- in Australian Grebe, non-breeding and immature -- yellow eye, pale patch of bare skin at the gape of the bill and with the edge of the grey cap running through the eye. Some adults will retain a bit of chestnut on the neck and head, so look for that too.

- in Hoary-headed Grebe, non-breeding and immature -- white eye, no bare skin or patch at the gape, edge of the grey cap running just below the eye. 

For even more detail, consult a good field guide. My favourite is the Australian Bird Guide, by Menkhorst and others. It has excellent pictures of the above features and very good text as well. You could also use any of the moderated photo archives, such as the Macaulay Library or Canberra Nature Map to view photos of both species. 

Kim

ACT eBird reviewer

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