Silvery Grebe

The silvery grebe is about 28 cm (11 in) in length. There are two different subspecies which differ in the colouring on their head and facial plumes. In the southern form, the ear plumes are yellowish and the side of the head and throat are grey. In the northern form, the ear plumes are grey and the side of the head and throat are white. Both have a crown that is black and the neck, chest and belly are white while the back is dark grey and the sides and flanks blackish. The beak and feet are black and the eye red. The northern form in particular is similar in appearance to the rare and highly localized Junin grebe (Podiceps taczanowskii), and their ranges overlap.

The silvery grebe nests in Argentina, the Falkland Islands, Chile, and the western parts of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. The southern silvery grebe is migratory, in winter ranging north to Paraguay, southern Bolivia and southern Brazil and possibly also in Uruguay. Its habitat is freshwater lakes, lagoons, reservoirs and ponds. In the Andes it tends to have a preference for weakly alkaline lakes and is sometimes found foraging on hypersaline lakes. In Patagonia, it sometimes inhabits saline lakes where it can be found in the company of flamingoes.