Family: Podicipedidae, Grebes view all from this family

Description 22-29" (56-74 cm). A large slender grebe with a long neck. Very similar to Western Grebe, but black of cap does not reach eyes, so face is largely white; bill bright yellow or orange-yellow.

Habitat Breeds on large lakes with tules or rushes; winters mainly on shallow coastal bays and estuaries.

Nesting 3 or 4 bluish-white eggs, stained brown or buff, on a floating nest anchored to reeds. Nests in dense, noisy colonies.

Range Breeding range broadly overlaps that of Western Grebe, from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Minnesota south to southern California, and sparsely to Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Winters along coast from southeastern Alaska to California, along Gulf Coast, and on large river systems in West.

Voice   A loud kr-r-rick, not doubled as in Western Grebe; heard most often on breeding grounds.

Discussion First described in 1858, at the same time as the Western Grebe, Clark's Grebe was originally regarded as a distinct species and then as a color phase of the Western Grebe. These two birds are once again considered separate species because they nest side by side with very little interbreeding. In most respects the two are alike. Clark's Grebe is more common in the southern portions of the combined range of the two species, and relatively rare in the northern part.