Podiceps auritus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Horned Grebe
Slavonian Grebe

Florida native

Click on any image to open the slideshow

Central Florida marks the southern extent of the winter migration of this small waterfowl. The winter range includes the southeastern coast from Maryland to Texas, less frequently inland, the Great Lakes and most of the Pacific coast, more numerous in California. The summer extends from Lake Superior and Hudson Bay throughout most of central and western Canada and into Alaska.
Horned grebes ride high in the water and have a small head with a short, sharp black bill tipped in white. The eyes are scarlet. Immature and winter plumage are similar, with a black cap and black band down the rear of the neck, the cheeks and front of the neck are white. The back is gray mottled with a band of white usually visible just above the waterline along the rear half of the body. In summer breeding plumage, the white sides and neck become rufous, the head is black with a widening yellow patch extending from the eye to the back of the head.

Podiceps auritus is a member of the Podicipedidae - Grebes family.

iNaturalist profile for this species

For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds page for this species

Date record last modified: Jun 18, 2025