BIRD 6

This bird’s dives have rewarded it with a nice fishy meal, with one of those fish that looks too big for any bird to swallow! At least the fish is going down head first. The bird is long-necked and the bill is long and narrow, lacking a hooked tip (unlike a cormorant or Goosander). The legs are just showing right at the back, and the tail end is a bit fluffy, ‘ lacking’ an obvious tail. The plumage is largely dark brown, with a black crown (which splays into a sort of a crest) and rusty orange/rufous cheeks, which seems to splay as a sort of ‘ frill’. There is also a thin line of white above the eye as well as under the eye. The fluffy tail end and pointed bill suggest a grebe, and the plumage and shape all point to this being a Great Crested Grebe.

Key features

■ Long-necked, fine, pointed bill

■ Fluffy rear end

■ Legs right at the back

■ Crested head with black crown

Long neck and largely brown plumage Black crown and ‘crested’ appearance Fluffy rear end with legs just showing