Grebes | Podicipediformes

Futen | Somormujos y zampullines

Waterbirds propelled by the feet alone and built for it throughout: the legs are set at the very rear of the body, the tarsus is flattened from side to side, and each toe carries its own broad swimming lobe instead of webbing. On land they can barely stand or walk; they leave the water only in extremity and climb straight onto the nest. There is effectively no tail — just a tuft of down behind — and the plumage is dense, silky and waterproof, the belly feathers lying slanted and tightly packed. They dive from the surface and hunt underwater by sight.

Families in this order

Grebes | Podicipedidae3 speciesIn the breeding season both sexes carry the same head and neck ornaments — crests, ruffs or coloured cheek patches — and perform an elaborate courtship together in mirrored postures on the water. The nest is a floating heap of wet waterweed anchored to reeds or branches; the eggs are chalky white but soon stain brown, and the bird covers them with plant material on leaving. The young are striped lengthwise in black and white, take to the water at once and climb in among the parents' back feathers, which carry them and even go under on a dive. Another mark of the family is that they swallow their own feathers and feed feathers to the chicks; in the stomach these form a plug that holds back bones and hard remains.