What an adorable photo that MJSpringett Wildlife Photography captured. Just had to share it, with permission.

Begging Pied-billed Grebe by MJSpringett

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26 ESV)

I alway enjoy seeing the Grebes swimming around and diving. Waiting for them to come up is always an adventure. You never know where to look. You watch an area and next thing you know, up they pop nowhere near where they dove.

As for a young one, like the photo, that is an site that has evaded us. It is “cute.”

The Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) is a species of the grebe family of water birds. That is the Podicipedidae – Grebes FamilyThe Pied-billed Grebe is primarily found in ponds throughout the Americas. Other names of this grebe include American dabchick, dabchick, Carolina grebe, devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, pied-billed dabchick, thick-billed grebe, and other names.

Pied-billed Grebes are small, stocky, and short-necked. They are 12–15 in (31–38 centimeters) in length, with a wingspan of 18–24 in (45–62 cm) and weigh 8.9–20.0 oz (253–568 grams). They are mainly brown, with a darker crown and back. Their brown color serves as camouflage in the marshes they live in. They do not have white under their wings when flying, like other grebes. Their undertail is white and they have a short, blunt chicken-like bill that is a light grey color, which in summer is encircled by a broad black band (hence the name). In the summer, its throat is black. Juveniles have black and white stripes and look more like winter adults. This grebe does not have webbed feet. Its toes have lobes that come out of the side of each toe. These lobes allow for easy paddling. When flying, the feet appear behind the body due to the feet’s placement in the far back of the body.

Its call is unique, loud and sounds like a “whooping kuk-kuk-cow-cow-cow-cowp-cowp.” Its call is similar to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Pied-billed Grebes rarely fly. They make a slow dive frequently, especially when in danger, diving to about 20 feet or less. They dive for about 30 seconds and may move to a more secluded area of the water, allowing only the head to be visible to watch the danger dissipate.

Pied-billed Grebes feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates, and also on small fish and amphibians (frogs, tadpoles). They dive to obtain food. Their bills allow them to crush crustaceans, like crawfish. They may also eat plants. They have been shown to eat their own feathers, like other grebes, to aid in digestion (prevent injury from small bones). They will also feed their feathers to their young. (Wikipedia with editing)

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. (Psalms 37:25 ESV)

This photo, even though the young one is not really begging, and the parent is only doing what it is supposed to do, reminds me of that promise.

See:

• MJSpringett Wildlife Photography – Blog
• MJSpringett Wildlife Photography – This Grebe
• Birds of the World – Podicipedidae – Grebes Family
• Birds Vol 1 #4 – The Piedbill Grebe

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