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Aechmophorus occidentalis/Aechmophorus clarkii
Western Grebe is similar to the Clark's Grebe. One noticeable difference is that the Western Grebe, the black across the face starts below the eye and the Clark's is above the eye. Western's bill is a yellowish green and the Clark's is orange. The images shows both species together.
Lakes, marshes, water ways.
I spotted these two. I know they dance for courtship but not for food. As mentioned to me from Liam that the two species are in courtship.
Spotted on Dec 21, 2012
Submitted on Dec 23, 2012
2 Comments
I want to thank Liam for confirming what I only suspected. I did notice the difference but wasn't sure and glad I wasn't just seeing things.
Western and Clark's Grebes hybridize regularly, interestingly enough. You've recorded very well the interaction between the two species while courting!
You can see the differences pretty nicely here. In the second and third shots, you can see the Clark's with the dark above the eye, and in the last shot, you can see the difference in the flank shading (Clark's on left with paler flanks).
The exchanging of food is part of the courtship.
Great spotting!