Little Grebe
by
Shop
Shop
Tachybaptus ruficollis
Widespread & locally common resident of 7,500 breeding pairs in Britain.
16,000 Birds wintering between October-March.
Also occurs in mainland Europe
Adults in Summer Plumage predominantly dark above with its rich, rufous colour neck, cheeks and flanks, and bright yellow gape.
In Winter, the rufous is replaced by a dirty brownish grey in non-breeding and juvenile birds.
Juveniles have a stripy head & a yellow bill with a small black tip.
The call is a repeated weet-weet-weet or wee-wee-wee which sounds like a horse whinnying.