FAMILY PODICIPEDIDAE 2$ 



While grebes usually are confused with small ducks, and are 

 called "paticos," they may be recognized by the slender bill. Two 

 of the 20 species that are known are found in Panama. 



KEY TO SPECIES OF PODICIPEDIDAE 



Adults 



1. Bill longer and more slender, plainly colored; size smaller, 200 to 230 mm. 



long Least grebe, Podiceps dominicus, p. 28 



2. Bill heavier, with a distinct black band arotmd its center; size larger, 300 



to 350 mm. long Pied-billed grebe, Podilymbtis podiceps, p. 25 



Downy Young 



1. Forehead and nape blackish, with a single white or cinnamon line running 



back to a patch of the same color in the center of the crown. 



Least grebe, Podiceps dominicus, p. 28 



2. Forehead white, with two parallel white lines on either side extending back 



above the eye ; center of crown and band across nape cinnamon. 



Pied-billed grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, p. 25 



PODILYMBUS PODICEPS (Linnaeus): Pied-billed Grebe; Buzo 

 Figure 5 



Larger than the least grebe with a heavier bill that is banded 

 broadly through the nostrils with black. 



Description. — Length 300 to 350 mm. Grayish to dusky brown 

 above; whitish more or less mixed with gray below, washed lightly 

 with brown on the upper breast and lower foreneck; adult with a 

 prominent black throat patch. 



Immature birds, in first plumage, resemble those of the least 

 grebe, but have the sides of the neck spotted instead of streaked. 

 Light streaks remain on the sides of the neck and head until the 

 bird is well grown. 



Like the other grebe this species is completely aquatic, and by 

 many it is considered to be a small duck because of this and of its 

 general form. In Panama it is found on larger ponds and bodies 

 of fresh water, where it is fairly common. It is a wary bird that 

 seldom allows close approach, as it dives at any alarm, swims far 

 tmder water, and often when it rises shows only the bill and the 

 forepart of the head to allow it to look about while the body remains 

 beneath the surface. Frequently its diving takes it to the shelter of 

 bordering vegetation, or to a distance where it feels completely safe. 

 While fairly strong on the wing it does not take flight readily, in 

 this differing from its small companion. It is unlike that species 



