Animal
Great crested grebe
The great crested grebe is a water bird with a black crest and orange feathers on its head. Pairs dance on the water. The chicks ride on their parents' backs.
The great crested grebe lives on lakes and ponds in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It has a black crest and orange-and-black head plumes, and pairs perform an elaborate courtship dance on the water. It dives to catch fish, and its very young chicks often ride on their parents' backs.
Podiceps cristatus is a diving waterbird of vegetated lakes across Europe and central Asia, with scattered populations in Africa, southern Australia and New Zealand. Hunting for its plumes once nearly wiped it out in Britain, and it recovered there as that persecution was reduced (BTO). BirdLife International assessed it as Least Concern for the IUCN Red List (assessed 11 August 2019, published 2019), with an unknown trend and about 915,000 to 1.4 million birds (Wetlands International 2015).
Photo: caroline legg, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the great crested grebe
The great crested grebe is a water bird. It has a long neck and a pointed beak.
It has a black crest and orange feathers on its head.
The great crested grebe is an elegant water bird with a long neck and a pointed beak. It has a black crest on top of its head and a frill of orange and black feathers around its face, which it shows off in its courtship dance. In winter its feathers are plainer.
It is about 46 to 51 centimeters long, with wings about 85 to 90 centimeters across, and weighs about 590 grams to 1.5 kilograms.
Podiceps cristatus belongs to the grebe family, Podicipedidae. The BTO describes a graceful waterbird with ornate head plumage, whose winter plumage is drabber, so that birds offshore in winter can be confused with divers and other grebes. The RSPB calls it an elegant waterbird with decorative head plumes and lists brown legs and a brown, black and red bill.
The RSPB gives a length of 46 to 51 centimeters, a wingspan of 85 to 90 centimeters and a weight of 590 to 1,500 grams; the BTO gives a typical weight of 993 grams.
Quick facts
- Group
- Bird
- Length
- 0.46 to 0.51 m
- Wingspan
- 0.85 to 0.9 m
- Weight
- 0.59 to 1.5 kg
Lakes with reeds
Great crested grebes live on lakes and ponds.
They like water with reeds and plants around the edges.
Great crested grebes live across most of Europe and central Asia, in parts of Africa from Tunisia and Egypt to South Africa, and in southern Australia and New Zealand. Some spend the winter in southern Asia.
They nest on lakes, ponds, slow rivers and reservoirs with plenty of water plants and large areas of open water, usually 0.5 to 5 meters deep. People-made lakes such as gravel pits and fish ponds suit them too. In winter they use big lakes and reservoirs that do not freeze, and in cold spells they move to sheltered coastal waters.
The IUCN text describes a range across most of Europe and central Asia, wintering in parts of southern Asia such as northern India, colonies scattered through Africa from Tunisia and Egypt to South Africa, and nesting colonies in southern Australia and New Zealand, from sea level to 3,000 meters. It breeds on fresh or brackish water with abundant emergent and submerged vegetation, preferring nutrient-rich water bodies with flat or sloping banks, usually 0.5 to 5 meters deep with large areas of open water, including reservoirs, fish-ponds, gravel pits and ornamental lakes (del Hoyo et al. 1992; Snow and Perrins 1998).
In tropical Africa and New Zealand it may breed on mountain lakes up to 3,000 meters. It winters on large ice-free lakes and reservoirs, moving to sheltered coastal waters less than 10 meters deep during cold spells (IUCN). Most great crested grebes are fully migratory, though some populations only disperse locally (IUCN).
Continents
Its habitat
Where can you find this animal?
- Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
- Visits for part of the year · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Lakes, ponds, reservoirs and slow rivers with water plants where great crested grebes live all year or come to breed: most of Europe, central and eastern Asia, scattered parts of Africa, southern Australia and New Zealand. Grebes live in only parts of many countries shown. Hong Kong, Monaco and San Marino are also in the range but have no separate map shape. The IUCN also lists Angola, Gabon, Zamb
Places: Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Armenia, Belgium and 76 more places.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Counts of GBIF records of wild observations (human and machine) and preserved specimens. Records include introduced populations, vagrants, escaped or released animals and misidentifications, so a country with records is not necessarily part of the native range.
Wild sightings have been recorded in Netherlands, Sweden, UK, France, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Spain and 92 more places.
Source: gbif · checked October 2026
Visits for part of the year · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Afghanistan, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia, where the IUCN lists great crested grebes only outside the breeding season. Bahrain, Liechtenstein and Malta are also listed but have no separate map shape.
Places: Afghanistan, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Range maps show where scientists say an animal lives, often country by country. An animal may live in only part of a country shown, and sightings records can include animals that wandered far from home.
Diving for fish
Great crested grebes dive under the water to catch fish.
They also eat insects and little shrimp-like animals.
Great crested grebes eat mainly fish, which they catch by diving underwater. They also eat insects, crustaceans such as crayfish and shrimps, and molluscs, and sometimes amphibians and their young.
In the breeding season they eat more insects and other small animals than at other times of year.
The IUCN gives a diet predominantly of large fish, with insects, crustaceans such as crayfish and shrimps, and molluscs, and occasionally adult and larval amphibians; invertebrates are eaten most during the breeding season (del Hoyo et al. 1992). The RSPB summarizes the diet as mainly fish and says grebes dive both to feed and to escape, preferring diving to flying.
In summer the BTO describes birds on reed-bordered lakes eating fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Did you know?
Grebes dive to get away from danger.
When frightened, a great crested grebe usually dives instead of flying away.
Great crested grebes dive to feed and to escape, preferring this to flying (RSPB).
Feet set far back
A grebe's feet are far back on its body.
It is made for life on the water, and clumsy on land.
A great crested grebe's legs are set far back on its body. It is well suited to life on the water, but clumsy when it tries to walk on land. When it is in danger, it usually dives rather than flies.
The black crest and the orange and black frill around its face are shown off in its courtship displays, when a pair toss their heads together.
The BTO describes legs placed far back on the body, uniquely suited to life on the water but clumsy on land; the RSPB says the same and that grebes dive to escape as well as to feed, preferring this to flying.
After breeding, adults may gather on large lakes and reservoirs for a flightless molt, sometimes in groups of hundreds and occasionally more than 10,000 (IUCN, after del Hoyo et al. 1992 and Fjeldså 2004). The ornate head plumes, used in courtship, are the feathers that were once hunted for fashion (BTO; RSPB).
A floating nest
Grebes build a nest of water plants that floats on the water.
The chicks are fluffy. They often ride on their parents' backs.
Great crested grebes build a nest of water plants. It floats on the water, tied to reeds or other plants, or is built up from the bottom in shallow water. A clutch is usually 3 or 4 eggs, and both parents keep them warm for 27 to 29 days.
The chicks hatch covered in down, and very young chicks often ride on their parents' backs. They can fly at about 71 to 79 days old.
Breeding runs from April to September in Europe, in every month in Africa (peaking in the long rainy season) and from November to March in Australasia; pairs nest alone or in loose colonies where safe sites are few and feeding areas large (IUCN). The nest is a platform of aquatic plant matter floating and anchored to emergent vegetation, or built up from the bottom in shallow water, in reedbeds, flooded thickets or floating mats of weed (IUCN).
The BTO gives a typical clutch of 3 to 4 eggs, incubation by both male and female for 27 to 29 days, precocial downy chicks and fledging at 71 to 79 days; breeding typically starts at 2 years, and the oldest ringed bird in the BTO's records reached 11 years, 10 months and 5 days (set in 1978). The RSPB notes that very young grebes often ride on their parents' backs.
The weed dance
Two grebes shake their heads together.
Then they dive, bring up water weed and rise up chest to chest.
Great crested grebes have an elaborate courtship dance. A pair toss their decorated heads together at the same time. Then both dive, come up with water weed, and rise up out of the water chest to chest, shaking their heads as they offer the weed.
After the breeding season, grebes may gather in big groups on large lakes while they grow new feathers. In winter they are mostly alone, though thousands may sometimes gather in one place.
The RSPB describes pairs tossing their decorated heads in unison to claim territory and strengthen their bond, then diving, retrieving weed and rising out of the water pressed chest to chest, offering the weed in a series of headshakes; the BTO calls the courtship display dance-like.
In winter the species is largely solitary, especially when feeding, but temporary gatherings of up to 5,000 may form in some areas (IUCN, after Snow and Perrins 1998 and Fjeldså 2004).
Did you know?
Baby grebes ride on their parents' backs.
Very young great crested grebe chicks often ride on their parents' backs.
The RSPB notes that very young grebes often ride on their parents' backs.
Listen to a grebe
Listen to the sound at the start of this page.
It is a real great crested grebe calling in England.
At the start of this page you can play a real recording of a great crested grebe calling. Aubrey John Williams recorded it at Frensham Great Pond in Surrey, England, on 15 April 1974. The British Library keeps it with its other wildlife recordings, and it is shared on Wikimedia Commons for anyone to hear.
The recording was made in April, the month the breeding season starts in Europe. The RSPB calls the grebes' head-shaking dance a springtime spectacle.
The recording on this page was made by Aubrey John Williams at Frensham Great Pond, Surrey, England, on 15 April 1974 (British Library, shelfmark W1CDR0001488, shared on Wikimedia Commons). The archive describes it as calls of a great crested grebe.
Did you know?
Grebes give each other water weed in their dance.
In their courtship dance, a pair of grebes dive for water weed and offer it to each other chest to chest.
In the weed display both birds retrieve weed and rise out of the water pressed chest to chest, offering it with headshakes (RSPB).
Saved from the hat trade
Long ago, people hunted grebes for their pretty feathers.
Now hardly any are hunted for feathers, and there are many again.
In the 1800s, great crested grebes were hunted for their beautiful head feathers, which were used to decorate hats. In England around 1860, only 32 to 72 pairs were known. Hunting for feathers stopped being a big threat, and grebes recovered. In the UK, the Plumage Prohibition, passed in 1921, was the first campaigning success of the RSPB, a bird charity.
Today the great crested grebe is listed as least concern. There may be about 915,000 to 1.4 million of them in the world.
BirdLife International assessed Podiceps cristatus as Least Concern for the IUCN Red List (assessed 11 August 2019, published 2019): an extremely large range and a very large population, about 915,000 to 1,400,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2015), whose trend is unknown but not thought to be falling fast enough to approach the thresholds. Generation length is 7.1 years.
Hunting for food and the plume trade was once a significant threat but no longer occurs at significant levels, though some sport hunting may continue (IUCN). In England only 32 to 72 pairs were known around 1860 (Holloway 1996, via the BTO); numbers then grew until about 1996, and the BTO has found little evidence of change since (its breeding survey shows no clear trend since 1995). In New Zealand, introduced fish were linked to past declines, likely through competition for food, but that population now appears to be increasing (IUCN).
IUCN Red List
How is the great crested grebe doing in the wild?
- Least Concern (this animal)
- Near Threatened
- Vulnerable
- Endangered
- Critically Endangered
- Extinct in the Wild
- Extinct
Least Concern
Not at risk of disappearing from the wild right now.
Amazing facts
-
Baby grebes ride on their parents' backs.
Very young great crested grebe chicks often ride on their parents' backs.
The RSPB notes that very young grebes often ride on their parents' backs.
-
Grebes give each other water weed in their dance.
In their courtship dance, a pair of grebes dive for water weed and offer it to each other chest to chest.
In the weed display both birds retrieve weed and rise out of the water pressed chest to chest, offering it with headshakes (RSPB).
-
Grebes dive to get away from danger.
When frightened, a great crested grebe usually dives instead of flying away.
Great crested grebes dive to feed and to escape, preferring this to flying (RSPB).
-
A bird charity in Britain won its first campaign in 1921, after grebes were hunted for their feathers.
The Plumage Prohibition, passed in 1921, was the RSPB's first campaigning success.
The RSPB counts the Plumage Prohibition (1921) as its first campaigning success; the plume trade had nearly wiped out the UK's great crested grebes.
Words to know
- grebe
- a diving water bird with its legs set far back on its body
- crest
- a tuft of feathers on a bird's head
- courtship
- the displays animals use to attract and bond with a mate
- plumage
- all of a bird's feathers
- molt
- to shed old feathers and grow new ones
- reedbed
- an area of shallow water thick with tall reeds
Discovery challenge
-
What do great crested grebes mostly eat?
What is the main food of great crested grebes?
Which prey dominates the great crested grebe's diet?
- Fish
- Seeds
- Leaves
Show the answer
Fish
Fish! They dive to catch them.
Mainly fish, plus insects, crustaceans and molluscs.
Predominantly fish, with insects, crustaceans, molluscs and occasionally amphibians (IUCN).
-
Where do grebe chicks often ride?
Where do very young grebe chicks often ride?
Where do very young great crested grebe chicks often travel, according to the RSPB?
- On their parents' backs
- Inside a floating log
- On a swan's head
Show the answer
On their parents' backs
On mom's or dad's back!
On their parents' backs.
On their parents' backs (RSPB).
-
What does a grebe nest float on?
Where is a great crested grebe's nest?
What kind of nest does the great crested grebe build?
- On the water, made of water plants
- High in a tree
- In a hole in a riverbank
Show the answer
On the water, made of water plants
On the water. It is made of plants.
It is a pile of water plants floating on the water or built up from the bottom in shallow water.
A platform of aquatic plant matter, floating and anchored to vegetation or built from the bottom in shallow water (IUCN).
-
Why were grebes hunted long ago?
Why were great crested grebes hunted in the 1800s?
Why were the UK's great crested grebes hunted almost to extinction in the late 1800s?
- For their head feathers, to decorate hats
- For their eggs, to make cakes
- To keep as pets
Show the answer
For their head feathers, to decorate hats
For their pretty feathers.
Their head feathers were used to decorate hats.
The plume trade for feathered headwear (RSPB; BTO).
Places where you might see it
-
Watch
Country
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, or UK, lies on islands off the northwest coast of Europe. It is made up of four parts, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and about 69.5 million people live there. Its capital is London.
-
Watch
Country
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a small, flat country in northwestern Europe on the North Sea. Its name means low-lying country: more than a quarter of it lies below sea level, protected by dunes and dikes. About 18.2 million people lived there in 2026, and its capital is Amsterdam, a city of canals.
-
Watch
Country
Australia
Australia is a country and the smallest continent, surrounded by ocean in the Southern Hemisphere. Much of its middle is dry and flat, most people live near the coast, and its animals include kangaroos, koalas and the platypus, a mammal that lays eggs.
Explore next
-
Watch
Animal
Common loon
The common loon is a big diving bird of northern lakes. In summer it wears a black head, a striped white necklace and a checkered back. It chases fish underwater, calls with eerie wails and yodels, and spends the winter on the coast.
-
Watch
3D
Animal
Mallard
The mallard is perhaps the most familiar duck in the world, found on ponds, lakes, rivers and city parks across North America, Europe and Asia. Males have glossy green heads; females are mottled brown. Almost all farm ducks are descended from mallards.
-
Watch
Animal
Pied avocet
The pied avocet is a black-and-white wading bird with long blue-gray legs and a long, thin beak that curves upward. It lives on salty and brackish wetlands, lagoons, saltpans and mudflats in Europe, Africa and Asia. It sweeps its beak from side to side in shallow water to sift tiny animals from the mud.
-
Watch
Country
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, or UK, lies on islands off the northwest coast of Europe. It is made up of four parts, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and about 69.5 million people live there. Its capital is London.
-
Watch
Country
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a small, flat country in northwestern Europe on the North Sea. Its name means low-lying country: more than a quarter of it lies below sea level, protected by dunes and dikes. About 18.2 million people lived there in 2026, and its capital is Amsterdam, a city of canals.
-
Watch
Country
Australia
Australia is a country and the smallest continent, surrounded by ocean in the Southern Hemisphere. Much of its middle is dry and flat, most people live near the coast, and its animals include kangaroos, koalas and the platypus, a mammal that lays eggs.
-
Watch
Animal
Adélie penguin
The Adélie penguin is a medium-sized penguin, about 70 centimeters tall, with a black back, a white front and a bright white ring around each eye. It breeds in summer on rocky, ice-free ground all around Antarctica, building nests of pebbles, and spends the winter far out at sea among the pack ice.
-
Watch
Animal
African fish eagle
The African fish eagle is a big eagle of Africa's lakes, rivers and coasts, with a white head, chest and tail and a chestnut-brown body. It snatches fish from the surface of the water, and its loud, ringing call is one of the best-known sounds of Africa.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate the regions of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia where great crested grebes live.
- Describe how great crested grebes feed and why they are clumsy on land.
- Describe the grebe's courtship dance and its floating nest.
- Explain how hunting for hat feathers nearly wiped out grebes in Britain and how they recovered once it was cut back.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a bird with legs far back on its body be a good swimmer but a poor walker?
- Why do you think grebe pairs dance together before nesting?
- Fashion once put grebes in danger. Can the things people buy affect animals today?
Try at home or in class
- With a partner, copy the grebe weed dance: shake your heads together at the same time, then 'offer' each other a piece of green paper.
- Make a little raft from twigs and leaves and float it in a bowl of water. Does it stay up? How could a grebe keep its nest from drifting away?
Key vocabulary: grebe, crest, courtship, plumage, molt, reedbed
Where these facts come from
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF Occurrence Search , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (CC0 1.0 (backbone); occurrence counts are facts derived from records under CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC)
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN terms of use (no redistribution of Red List data or range maps))
- Podiceps cristatus (BirdLife International, assessed 11 August 2019, published 2019) , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Podiceps cristatus: range, population, ecology and threats text , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Podiceps cristatus: IUCN Red List global assessment record (BirdLife International 2019), IUCN checklist on GBIF , GBIF
- Great crested grebe (BirdFacts) , British Trust for Ornithology
- Great crested grebe bird facts , RSPB
- File:Great Crested Grebe (52909695022).jpg (United Kingdom, 4 May 2023, caroline legg) , Wikimedia Commons
- File:Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) (W1CDR0001488 BD4).ogg (Aubrey John Williams, Frensham Great Pond, 15 April 1974, British Library) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file: Public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only (credited on each page))
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.