Red-necked grebe
Podiceps grisegena (Boddaert, 1783)
The red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is a bird in the family Podicipedidae and order Podicipediformes. It is a medium-sized bird with a representative adult body mass of 1.023 kg and a wingspan of 72.5 cm.
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Quick facts about the red-necked grebe
This migratory, aquatic species lives in wetland habitat and is a carnivore classed as an aquatic predator. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 785.4 g – 1.02 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 72.5 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 4.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 11 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 21.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 23.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the red-necked grebe?
Photos of the red-necked grebe
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the red-necked grebe live?
Not recorded
What is the red-necked grebe?
The red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is an aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. A migratory bird, its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes. Grebes prefer shallow bodies of fresh water such as lakes, marshes or fish-ponds as breeding sites.
The red-necked grebe is a fairly drab dusky-grey bird in winter. During the breeding season, it acquires the distinctive red neck plumage, black cap and contrasting pale grey face from which its name was derived. It also has an elaborate courtship display and a variety of loud mating calls. Once paired, it builds a nest from water plants on top of floating vegetation in a shallow lake or bog.
Like all grebes, the red-necked is a good swimmer and particularly swift diver, and responds to danger by diving rather than flying. The feet are positioned far back on the body, near the tail, which makes the bird ungainly on land. It dives for fish or picks insects off vegetation; it also swallows its own feathers, possibly to protect the digestive system. The conservation status of its two subspecies, P. g. grisegena, found in Europe and western Asia, and the larger P. g. holbolii (sometimes called Holbøll's grebe), found in North America and eastern Siberia, is evaluated as Least Concern, and the global population is stable or growing.
From the Wikipedia article “Red-necked grebe” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-necked_grebe&oldid=1380702142), 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 red-necked grebe endangered?
The red-necked grebe is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the red-necked grebe classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPodicipediformes
- familyPodicipedidae
- genusPodiceps
- SpeciesPodiceps grisegena (Boddaert, 1783)
Synonyms Colymbus subcristatus, Pedetaithya subcristata, Podiceps griseigena, Podiceps subcristatus, Podicipes grisegena
Other names and names in other languages (107)
- غطاس أحمر الرقبةArabic
- somorguyu buxuAsturian
- Semerguyu CuellurroxuAsturian
- Bozyanaq iyrəncəAzerbaijani
- Аҡбаш сыпҡайBashkir
- Коўра шэрашчокаяBelarusian
- Паганка шэрашчокаяBelarusian
- Шэрашчокая коўраBelarusian
- Среден гмурецBulgarian
- Червеноврат гмурецBulgarian
- Plomer gouzoug ruzBreton
- Soterí GrisCatalan
- cabussó grisCatalan
- ВишкӹрMari
- Сӑрӑ питлӗ чӑмкӑҫChuvash
- Сăрă питлĕ чăмкăçChuvash
- potápka rudokrkáCzech
- gwyach yddfgochWelsh
- Gwyach gwddfgochWelsh
- Gwyachod GyddfgochWelsh
- gråstrubet lappedykkerDanish
- RothalstaucherGerman
- RothalssteißfußGerman
- MiaròlEmilian
- ΚοκκινοβούττηςGreek
- ΚοκκινοβουτηχτάριGreek
- grizvanga greboEsperanto
- somormujo cuellirrojoSpanish
- Zambullidor Cuello RojoSpanish
- Zambullidor de cuello rojoSpanish
- hallpõsk-püttEstonian
- Murgil lepagorriBasque
- Murgil lepagorriaBasque
- کشیم گردن سرخPersian
- härkälintuFinnish
- Øsgrá gjørFaroese
- Grèbe jougrisFrench
- ReadhalsdûkerWestern Frisian
- Foitheach píbruaIrish
- Lapairin ruadhScottish Gaelic
- Gobhlachan ruadhScottish Gaelic
- Mergullón cincentoGalician
- Greeb ruyManx
- Eean Kereen JiargManx
- શિયાળુ મોટી ડુબકીGujarati
- טבלן אפור לחייםHebrew
- טבלן אפור-לחייםHebrew
- Ridogrli GnjuracCroatian
- riđogrli gnjuracCroatian
- vörösnyakú vöcsökHungarian
- Սուզակ մոխրաայտArmenian
- SefgoðiIcelandic
- Sefgo?iIcelandic
- Svasso collorossoItalian
- アカエリカイツブリJapanese
- რუხლოყება კოკონაGeorgian
- qarsaarnaqKalaallisut
- Сұржақ сұқсырKazakh
- 큰논병아리Korean
- سۆنەبناڤکا ستووسۆرKurdish
- پێ بەقوونەی گەردن سوورKurdish
- Gryb gudhak ruthCornish
- RouthalsdaucherLuxembourgish
- rudakaklis kragasLithuanian
- pelēkvaigu dūkurisLatvian
- БелошестMacedonian
- црвеноврат нуркачMacedonian
- Буурал шунгуурMongolian
- gråstrupedykkerNorwegian Bokmål
- roodhalsfuutDutch
- gråstrupedukkarNorwegian Nynorsk
- GråstrupedykkarNorwegian Nynorsk
- ZhingibisOjibwa
- perkoz rdzawoszyiPolish
- سرخ تون الا گریبWestern Panjabi
- mergulhão-de-faces-brancasPortuguese
- mergulhão-de-pescoço-ruivoPortuguese
- Sfunsella grischaRomansh
- Corcodel cu gât roşuRomanian
- Corcodel cu gât roșuRomanian
- РевуньяRussian
- серощёкая поганкаRussian
- ПоганкаRusyn
- ТуотаайыYakut
- RánesbuokčaNorthern Sami
- ránesbuokčáNorthern Sami
- ránesbuokčiNorthern Sami
- potápka červenokrkáSlovak
- rjavovrati ponirekSlovenian
- zhytra faqehirtëAlbanian
- kredharaku faqehirtëAlbanian
- Ridjogrli gnjuracSerbian
- Црвеноврати гњурацSerbian
- Crvenovrati gnjuracSerbian
- Riđovrati gnjuracSerbian
- gråhakedoppingSwedish
- kizilboyunlu bataganTurkish
- kızılboyunlu batağanTurkish
- Бора чаактыг ырыксысTuvinian
- Норець сірощокийUkrainian
- Пірникоза сірощокаUkrainian
- 赤頸鷿鷈Chinese
- 赤頸鸊鷈Chinese
- 赤頸鸊鷉Chinese
- 赤颈䴙䴘Chinese
- 赤颈鸊鷉Chinese
- 赤颈Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the red-necked grebe
Other species in the same genus Podiceps.
Great crested grebe
Podiceps cristatus
Black-necked grebe
Podiceps nigricollis
Horned grebe
Podiceps auritus
Great grebe
Podiceps major
Silvery grebe
Podiceps occipitalis
Junin grebe
Podiceps taczanowskii
CompareRed-necked grebe vs Great crested grebeRed-necked grebe vs Black-necked grebeRed-necked grebe vs Horned grebeRed-necked grebe vs Great grebe
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the red-necked grebe?
The red-necked grebe is a bird in the family Podicipedidae, order Podicipediformes. It is a migratory, aquatic species.
How heavy is the red-necked grebe?
Its representative adult body mass is 1.023 kg, which places it in the medium size class. Its wingspan is 72.5 cm.
What does the red-necked grebe eat?
The red-necked grebe is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.
What habitat does the red-necked grebe live in?
It lives in wetland habitat.
Is the red-necked grebe endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the red-necked grebe live?
Its lifespan is given as 4.8 years, with the highest value reported by our sources being 11 years.
How many eggs does the red-necked grebe lay?
It lays 4.5 eggs per clutch and has 1.5 clutches per year. Incubation lasts 21.5 days.
Who named the red-necked grebe?
Its scientific name, Podiceps grisegena, carries the authority (Boddaert, 1783).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-necked-grebe
“Red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-necked-grebe.
@misc{red_necked_grebe_2026,
title = {Red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-necked-grebe},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}