# Great crested grebe (*Podiceps cristatus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-crested-grebe  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is a bird in the family Podicipedidae, order Podicipediformes. It is a small, aquatic, carnivorous bird of wetland habitat, with a diet classed as aquatic predator, and it is sedentary. Adults weigh 731 g, with a recorded high of 920 g, and have a wingspan of 88 cm. A clutch holds 3.77 eggs, with 1.5 clutches per year and an incubation period of 28 days; sexual maturity is reached at 2 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 731 g – 920 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 88 cm |
| Lifespan | 16.9 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 19.3 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 28 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.77 – 3.9 |
| Age at maturity | 24 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.5 |
| Lifestyle | Aquatic |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Podicipediformes
- family: Podicipedidae
- genus: Podiceps
- species: *Podiceps cristatus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Podicipes cristatus*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the great crested grebe?

The great crested grebe is a bird in the family Podicipedidae, order Podicipediformes. It is also called the Crested grebe or Great-crested grebe.

### How big is the great crested grebe?

Adults weigh 731 g, with a highest reported value of 920 g, and have a wingspan of 88 cm. It falls in the small size class.

### What does the great crested grebe eat?

The great crested grebe is a carnivore with a diet classed as aquatic predator.

### Is the great crested grebe endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the great crested grebe live?

Its lifespan is given as 16.85 years, with a highest reported value of 19.25 years.

### How many eggs does the great crested grebe lay?

A clutch holds 3.77 eggs, with 1.5 clutches per year. Incubation lasts 28 days.

### Who named the great crested grebe?

The scientific name Podiceps cristatus is credited to (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-crested-grebe