CreatureData

Hoary-headed grebe

Poliocephalus poliocephalus (Jardine & Selby, 1827)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The hoary-headed grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) is a species in the family Podicipedidae, order Podicipediformes. Recorded adults weigh 223.1 g to 257.9 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Hoary-headed grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus)
Photo: JJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the hoary-headed grebe

Weight
223.1 g – 257.9 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3.4 – 3.9src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the hoary-headed grebe live?

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.

The hoary-headed grebe is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the hoary-headed grebe?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The hoary-headed grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) is a member of the grebe family. It breeds in southern parts of Australia; it winters throughout the island of Tasmania. The bird takes its name from the silvery-white streaking on its black head. It is common in Australia, with a population of about 500,000. Its habitat is similar to that of the Australasian grebe.

From the Wikipedia article “Hoary-headed grebe” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hoary-headed_grebe&oldid=1361807835), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the hoary-headed grebe endangered?

The hoary-headed grebe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the hoary-headed grebe classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPodicipediformes
  5. familyPodicipedidae
  6. genusPoliocephalus
  7. SpeciesPoliocephalus poliocephalus (Jardine & Selby, 1827)

Synonyms Podiceps nestor, Podiceps poliocephalus, Podiceps poliocephalus cloatesi, Poliocephalus poliocephalus poliocephalus

Other names and names in other languages (31)
  • Hoary headed grebeEnglish
  • غطاس أشيب الرأسArabic
  • cabussó canósCatalan
  • potápka šedohlaváCzech
  • Gråhovedet LappedykkerDanish
  • HaarschopftaucherGerman
  • GraukopftaucherGerman
  • grizkapa greboEsperanto
  • Zampullín canosoSpanish
  • viirpea-püttEstonian
  • mustaniskauikkuFinnish
  • grèbe argentéFrench
  • prugastoglavi gnjuracCroatian
  • deresfejű vöcsökHungarian
  • Svasso canutoItalian
  • Svasso testacanutaItalian
  • シラガカイツブリJapanese
  • žilagalvis pietinis kragasLithuanian
  • grijskopfuutDutch
  • sølvhodedykkerNorwegian
  • perkoz sędziwyPolish
  • mergulhão-grisalhoPortuguese
  • Mergulhão-de-cabeça-grisalhaPortuguese
  • Седоголовая поганкаRussian
  • potápka sivohlaváSlovak
  • Gnjurac prugastog licaSerbian
  • gråhuvad doppingSwedish
  • Kır Saçlı BatağanTurkish
  • пірникоза сивоголоваUkrainian
  • 灰头䴙䴘Chinese
  • 灰頭鸊鷈Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the hoary-headed grebe

Other species in the same genus Poliocephalus.

CompareHoary-headed grebe vs New Zealand dabchick

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the hoary-headed grebe?

An adult hoary-headed grebe weighs 223.1 g – 257.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the hoary-headed grebe live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the hoary-headed grebe for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the hoary-headed grebe endangered?

The hoary-headed grebe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the hoary-headed grebe?

The hoary-headed grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus) belongs to the family Podicipedidae in the order Podicipediformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Hoary-headed grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hoary-headed-grebe

MLA

“Hoary-headed grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/hoary-headed-grebe.

BibTeX
@misc{hoary_headed_grebe_2026,
  title = {Hoary-headed grebe (Poliocephalus poliocephalus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/hoary-headed-grebe},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}