Podiceps cristatus
An elegant diver with ornate head plumes and a famous courtship dance.
Size: 46-51 cm | Habitat: Pond, Lake & River Birds | Season: All year
Slim and elegant, the great crested grebe has a long white neck, a dark double crest, and chestnut-and-black head plumes (tippets) that are raised during display. It sits low in the water and dives frequently.
Long slender white neck · dark cap and crest · chestnut-and-black head tippets (breeding) · straight, dagger-like pink bill · sits low, rides deep in the water
Great crested grebes perform one of Britain's most spectacular courtship displays, rearing up breast-to-breast and shaking their heads while holding waterweed in their bills. Chicks often ride on a parent's back, even while the adult dives.
Great crested grebes were hunted almost to extinction in Victorian Britain for their head feathers, used to trim hats — a campaign against this trade helped found what became the RSPB.
The Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is one of the most elegant birds on British waters, with a long white neck, dark double crest, and chestnut-and-black head plumes used dramatically in courtship.
Grebes are highly adapted for a life on water, with legs set far back on the body for powerful swimming and diving but making them clumsy on land, so nests are built as floating platforms anchored to waterside vegetation. Their famous "weed dance" courtship display — pairs rising breast to breast, shaking their heads while holding waterweed — is one of the most spectacular sights in British birdwatching, and chicks are often carried on a parent's back.
Understanding the great crested grebe's history — hunted for its head feathers almost to UK extinction in the 19th century, then protected and recovered — shows how conservation action and legal protection can reverse even severe declines.
🟢 Conservation status: Green (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Green-listed. Hunted almost to extinction in Victorian Britain for the plume trade, the great crested grebe has made a remarkable recovery and its population is now considered secure. Gravel pits, reservoirs, and improved water quality on many lowland lakes have all helped the species spread and thrive.