[MDOsprey] Eared Grebe 10/14 (yes)

Greg Miller (hawk-owl@yahoo.com)
Thu, 14 Oct 1999 18:02:11 -0700 (PDT) 

Howdy All!

The Eared Grebe was seen several times today,
Thursday, 10/14, at Patuxent River Naval Air Station
with the latest sighting around 5:00pm.  This bird
affords fairly close views.

So what was the problem (mostly mine) with calling
this an Eared Grebe from the start?  Well, there were
a few things that I felt merited further
investigation:

1) the slope of the forehead didn't look steep enough
2) the top of the head looked too flat
3) the bill didn't look thin enough
4) the bird lacked a distinct white verticle mark
behind the cheek

So what's different about the bird now?

1 & 2) The bird was feeding regularly.  After the bird
would pop up, the feathers in the crown would remain 
flattened for a couple of minutes.  After these
feathers start drying out, the familiar double-bumped
look of the Eared Grebe is apparent (the photos should
reveal this).
3) It's easy to tell the bill is quite pointed, but I
feared it was too thick.  The angle of the bird is
important to get a factual view.  When the bird is
close, it is quite easy to see that the bill is thin
(reminds me of a pencil).  The upper mandible is
straight and meets the lower mandible with a very
distinct, sharp point.  The lower mandible has a
longer angle, optically making the bill's tip seem
slightly upturned.
4) Even close, this bird still lacks a distinct
verticle mark behind the cheek.

Why I don't believe this is a Horned Grebe:

1) The slope of the forehead is steeper than Horned
Grebe.  Horned shows a tiny bump at the bill and then
the slope continues rather gradually and reaches an
indistinct change in angle roughly 45 degrees behind
the eye (back of the head).  On the Eared Grebe, the
slope is quite steep to about the middle of the head
[sometimes coming to a point] and sloping down
slightly to a change in angle at the back of the head
before disappearing into the top of the nape.
2) This bird lacks any white on the bill tip
3) There exists no white at all on the frontal part of
the forehead (next to the bill)
4) This dingy bird looks "dirty" on the front of the
neck from the throat down to the upper chest, and in
the head and face (although on very close inspection,
the bird's feathers are not dirty, but dusky gray). 
All that instead of the cleaner, more contrasty 
appearance of the Horned Grebe, especially on the face
and front of the neck.
5) The dark on the crown extends from the base of the
lower mandible, extending below the eye and then
straight back, disappearing into a dingy gray before
reaching the back of the nape. (though some Horned
Grebes can show this amount of dark feathering,
too--this bird does not show as deep an ear patch as
most of the field guides show and this is probably the
reason that the verticle mark is not as revealing).
6) The face is smudged with gray and the area that
should be white is a pale grayish color

Overall, it's a small,dark bird, and mostly a dull,
dusky, brownish-gray on the back.  It is quite buoyant
most of the time and when the bird is swimming away,
the white feathers under the tail are evident. 
Between the dark gray back and the bird's dusky sides,
the white in the ruffled feathers is often quite
apparent on this individual.  The bird dives quite
frequently for up to 15 seconds at a time and may
cover a distance of 50 ft or more.  The bird spends a
majority of it's time feeding close to shore.

At any rate, a fun bird to observe.

-Greg Miller
Hollywood, MD

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