Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Horned Grebe

Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)

This Horned Grebe is wearing his/her breeding plumage. Actually, I think it is just finishing moulting as it still has some of his black and white non-breeding feathers hanging on/falling off in places. The Horned Grebe doesn't actually have horns. Instead it has golden feathers on its head, which it can raise or lower. In these photos the  "horns" are lowered.

 His other side

This Horned Grebe is working its way north and west but has made a stopover in a Lake Ontario harbour.

Horned Grebe in non-breeding feathers


Thank you Monica! I have changed the text!
I am connecting to Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

49 comments:

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Wonderful shots of the Horned Grebe

Anonymous said...

What a pair of beauty's!

Giga said...

Beautiful duck and has a beautiful gold "horns". Regards.

Amy at love made my home said...

What beautiful birds!! xx

Anvilcloud said...

Neat bird or whatever.

eileeninmd said...

I love the grebes. Beautiful shots! have a great day!

jp@A Green Ridge said...

What a beautiful couple!!!...:)JP

Andy said...

The male has awesome colours.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Such a difference in colours, it's quite often the way with birds, the males are more colourful.. Wonderful shots EG.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Wow, it continues to amaze me how diverse the bird species are. Nice shot.

Darla said...

Glad you showed both the male and female. I like to see the difference. Like his golden horn feathers.

Darla

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

We call that a Slavonian grebe but we see them very infrequently. That's a pity because as you've shown they are spectacular birds.

The Furry Gnome said...

Boy, you sure get some spectacular bird pictures!

Gill - That British Woman said...

as always lovely photos...

MadSnapper said...

they are both beautiful, and if i were she, i would go after him in a heart beat.

laurak/ForestWalkArt :) said...

how could she resist him...with those colors, markings and all the little feathery horns!!
GREAT shots!!

TexWisGirl said...

how awesome!

Mary Hone said...

He's so handsome!! That's a new bird for me, very nice.

Michelle said...

Beautiful colors on the male!

Sylvia K said...

You do indeed get awesome pictures and so many of "critters" I've never seen before!! I love them! Thanks so much, as always, for sharing!! Hope your week is off to a great start!!

Linda W. said...

You always take great photos of the birds you see!

William Kendall said...

They are beautiful birds!

21 Wits said...

Such beauty and grace!

Revrunner said...

Very exotic!

Carletta said...

The first thing I noticed was their very red eyes. I think 'she' has good taste. He is pretty cute - beautifully colored.

Stephanie said...

Beautiful bird shots!

maryaustria said...

Such beautiful birds! Their eyes are impressive...

RedPat said...

I'm impressed with his colours too, EG! Great shots!

Susan said...

Wow, beautiful! The red eyes are kinda creepy though.

Adam Jones said...

Wonderful shots. I do like Grebes.

George said...

Mr. Horned Grebe is certainly a handsome fellow. I wonder if he won the lady's heart.

VP said...

I was looking up these guys on Wikipedia a few days ago, but yours pictures are much, much better!

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

I saw a group of Horned Grebes once on our lake a few years back. I am pretty sure they were blown off course during their migration because they have never returned. I could only make out the males because of the distance but there may well have been females with them. They are so striking and beautiful with their colors and red eyes. Beautiful photos EGC ...

Andrea @ From The Sol

cieldequimper said...

I would have been very surprised indeed if a bird had horns, lol!

These are cute. My first thought was 'where's the hairdryer"!

Gail Dixon said...

Grebes are my favorite! So cute. Beautiful shots of these lil darlings.

Kathy said...

I love his colors. He's a good-looking dude -- er, duck.

theconstantwalker said...

Beautiful images... grebes are fantastic birds to watch.

Lowell said...

You have some interesting ducks in your neck of the woods! :)

A Colorful World said...

They are a beautiful pair!

Unknown said...

Lovely pictures, you have such patience...

Randy said...

The male sure is colorful.

Ruth Hiebert said...

He is quite a good looking fella.

Cloudia said...

a new bird to me. Thanks so much




ALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=

Rohrerbot said...

If you only knew how much I'd love to see one in the breeding plumage! I've seen them in their non-breeding form only. Beautiful pics!

Halcyon said...

I love how all the birds pose for you. :)

Phil Slade said...

It hardly seems fair. He is quite magnificent, she a little dull. A discrete lady huh?

Karl said...

So cute !

NatureFootstep said...

I don´t think that is a female. Where I live the male and female are alike. The latter one is an adult with winter plumage. No tell male of female.

Rose said...

What a beauty he is!

Friends who encourage me

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.