Western Grebe

Aechmophorus occidentalis

Pairs run on water in synchronized rushing displays. Your message arrives via the bird world's best dance routine.

Population: ~80,000-90,000 mature individuals (est. 120,000-130,000 total individuals); BirdLife/IUCN trend listed as stable, though US Partners in Flight/State of the Birds data shows a survey-based decline of ~2%/year 1968-2015 (breeding pop. ~87,000) and places it on their Yellow Watch List
Habitat: Large freshwater lakes and marshes with a mix of open water and emergent (reed/rush) vegetation for breeding; winters largely on sheltered coastal marine waters, bays, and estuaries, sometimes on large reservoirs or inland lakes/rivers
Fun fact: Western Grebe courtship features a dramatic "rushing" display in which paired birds rear up and sprint side-by-side across the water's surface, walking on it at speed with their bodies nearly vertical.
Range: Western North America, breeding from south-central Canada through the western U.S. into northern Mexico; winters along the Pacific coast from southern Alaska/British Columbia to Mexico
Diet: Primarily fish (e.g., carp, herring, silversides), taken by diving and spearing/grasping with the bill; supplemented with salamanders, crustaceans, marine worms, grasshoppers, and aquatic insects/larvae
Size: 0.65 m
Wingspan: 0.61 m
Lifespan: 11 years

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