Great Crested Grebe

Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758) GG GRCGR 90
Family: Podicipediformes > Podicipedidae

Great Crested Grebe, Chris Knights

The Great Crested Grebe is a graceful waterbird with ornate head plumage and a dance-like courtship display.

Uniquely suited for life on the water, the Great Crested Grebe has legs placed far back on its body, which makes it clumsy on land. In summer, birds primarily inhabit reed-bordered lakes, where they eat fish and aquatic invertebrates. They can be found offshore in the winter months, when their drabber plumage and long neck means they can be confused with divers and other grebe species.

Historically persecuted for its beautiful feathers, the Great Crested Grebe population was once reduced to as few as 32 known pairs in England. Numbers increased from the mid-19th century up until 1996, after which little evidence of population change has been detected.

Exploring the trends for Great Crested Grebe

Our Trends Explorer will also give you the latest insight into how the UK's Great Crested Grebe population is changing.

trends explorer

Identification

Great Crested Grebe identification is usually straightforward. The following article may help when identifying Great Crested Grebe.

related video

Identifying winter Grebes

From Great Crested and Red-necked to Slavonian and Black-necked, separating grebes in winter plumage can be challenging. This  identification video from the BTO discusses all the features to help identify them with confidence.

SONGS AND CALLS

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Great Crested Grebe, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

Begging call

Call

Develop your bird ID skills with our training courses

Our interactive online courses are a great way to develop your bird identification skills, whether you're new to the hobby or a competent birder looking to hone your abilities.

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Status and Trends

Population size and trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO surveys and atlases with data collected by BTO volunteers.

CONSERVATION STATUS

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

POPULATION SIZE

POPULATION CHANGE

This species was believed to be on the verge of extinction in Britain around 1860, when only 32-72 pairs were known in England (Holloway 1996). A subsequent increase followed reductions in persecution, aided by statutory protection, and the creation of extensive new habitat in the form of gravel pits (Gibbons et al. 1993). Increase was tracked by special surveys to around 7,000 adult birds in Britain by 1975 (Hughes et al. 1979). The BBS provides the first national-scale annual monitoring of this species and indicates no clear trend since 1995. Winter numbers have shown a long-term shallow increase which peaked in the mid-2000s, followed by a subsequent shallow decline until around 2013 (WeBS: Frost et al. 2020). A decline has occurred across Europe since 1990 (PECBMS: PECBMS 2020a>).

Exploring the trends for Great Crested Grebe

Our Trends Explorer will also give you the latest insight into how the UK's Great Crested Grebe population is changing.

trends explorer

DISTRIBUTION

Wintering Great Crested Grebes occur on lowland lakes, estuaries and on shallow sea coasts. They are particularly abundant in central and southern England and central Scotland. The breeding distribution is similar, although restricted to freshwater lakes and rivers.

Occupied 10-km squares in UK

European Distribution Map

European Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Breeding Season Habitats

DISTRIBUTION CHANGE

Breeding and wintering ranges have expanded in recent decades.

Change in occupied 10-km squares in the UK

SEASONALITY

Great Crested Grebes are recorded fairly consistently throughout the year.

Weekly occurence of Great Crested Grebe from BirdTrack
Weekly occurrence patterns (shaded cells) and reporting rates (vertical bars) based on BirdTrack data. Reporting rates give the likelihood of encountering the species each week.

Movement

Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

RINGING RECOVERIES

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Foreign locations of Great Crested Grebe ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland
Encountered in: Winter (Nov-Feb); Spring (Mar-Apr); Summer (May-Jul); Autumn (Aug-Oct)

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information about Great Crested Grebe, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

PRODUCTIVITY & NESTING

Exploring the trends for Great Crested Grebe

Our Trends Explorer will also give you the latest insight into how the UK's Great Crested Grebe population is changing.

trends explorer

SURVIVAL & LONGEVITY

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Exploring the trends for Great Crested Grebe

Our Trends Explorer will also give you the latest insight into how the UK's Great Crested Grebe population is changing.

trends explorer

BIOMETRICS

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

CODES & CLASSIFICATION

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Gaelic: Gobhlachan-mòr
Welsh: Gwyach Fawr Gopog
Catalan: cabussó emplomallat
Czech: potápka rohác
Danish: Toppet Lappedykker
Dutch: Fuut
Estonian: tuttpütt
Finnish: silkkiuikku
French: Grèbe huppé
German: Haubentaucher
Hungarian: búbos vöcsök
Icelandic: Toppgoði
Irish: Foitheach Mór
Italian: Svasso maggiore
Latvian: cekuldukuris
Lithuanian: ausuotasis kragas
Norwegian: Toppdykker
Polish: perkoz dwuczuby
Portuguese: mergulhão-de-poupa
Slovak: potápka chochlatá
Slovenian: copasti ponirek
Spanish: Somormujo lavanco
Swedish: skäggdopping
Folkname: Satin Bird, Gaunt

Research

Interpretation and scientific publications about Great Crested Grebe from BTO scientists.

CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS

Causes of change

There is little good evidence available regarding the drivers of the breeding population change in this species in the UK.

Further information on causes of change

No further information available.

Information about conservation actions

The Great Crested Grebe successfully recovered after being subject to persecution in Victorian times, and BBS results indicate that numbers have been stable since at least 1994; hence this is not a species of conservation concern and specific conservation action to benefit this species is not currently required. Great Crested Grebes prefer mesotrophic to eutrophic conditions and hence may currently be benefiting from nutrient inputs from agriculture (provided conditions do not become hypertrophic), although any benefit is likely to be at the expense of other waterbirds and other taxa which are negatively affected by eutrophication (Keller & Korner-Nievergelt 2019). The continuation of local management actions and wider policies to maintain and create good quality wetland habitats for other wildfowl species are likely to continue to benefit this species.

Links to more information from ConservationEvidence.com

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