# Little grebe (*Tachybaptus ruficollis*)

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

The little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) is a bird in the family Podicipedidae, order Podicipediformes, also called the dabchick or tricolored grebe. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 169.4 g, with reported values from 167.1 to 180.4 g, and a wingspan of 42 cm. The little grebe is a sedentary, aquatic carnivore of wetland habitat, classed as an aquatic predator, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, not a threatened category. It lays clutches of 5 eggs, 2 clutches per year, with an incubation period of 20.5 days, and has a lifespan of 13.08 years, with reported values up to 17.5 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 167.1 g – 180.4 g |
| Length | 23 cm – 29 cm |
| Wingspan | 42 cm |
| Lifespan | 13.1 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 17.5 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 20.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.7 – 5 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months – 17.9 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2 |
| Lifestyle | Aquatic |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Podicipediformes
- family: Podicipedidae
- genus: Tachybaptus
- species: *Tachybaptus ruficollis* (Pallas, 1764)

Synonyms: *Colymbus fluviatilis*, *Colymbus fuscus*, *Colymbus minor*, *Colymbus ruficollis*, *Podiceps melanogenius*, *Podiceps minor*, *Podiceps pusilla*, *Podiceps ruficollis*, *Podicipes fluviatilis*, *Poliocephalus ruficollis*, *Tachybaptus fluviatilis*, *Tachybaptus ruficollis fluviatilis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the little grebe?

The little grebe is a bird in the family Podicipedidae and the order Podicipediformes.

### How big is the little grebe?

It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 169.4 g and a wingspan of 42 cm. Reported body mass values range from 167.1 to 180.4 g.

### What does the little grebe eat?

The little grebe is an aquatic predator and a carnivore that forages in an aquatic setting.

### Where does the little grebe live?

The little grebe lives in wetland habitat and is sedentary.

### Is the little grebe endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the little grebe live?

The little grebe has a lifespan of 13.08 years, with reported values up to 17.5 years.

### How many eggs does the little grebe lay?

It lays clutches of 5 eggs, with 2 clutches per year and an incubation period of 20.5 days.

### Who named the little grebe?

The scientific name Tachybaptus ruficollis is credited to (Pallas, 1764).

## 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: Little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-grebe