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    Podicipedidae – Grebes

    One could learn superfast dives from these little ‘water witches’!

    This family consists of accomplished and strong swimmers, and divers found worldwide except in the polar regions. They are highly suited for swimming – possessing soft, dense, water-resistant plumage, lobed toes, small heads, and thin necks. They feed mainly on fish or small invertebrates.

    Grebes are well-known for sharing parental duties with partnerships reinforced by their long, elaborate courtship rituals like the ‘weed ceremony’ where the pair dives deep into the water and resurfaces holding their offerings of underwater weeds. They build ‘floating nests’ amongst aquatic vegetation.