CreatureData

Sungrebe

Heliornis fulica (Boddaert, 1783)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The sungrebe (Heliornis fulica) is a species in the family Heliornithidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh 125 g to 135 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Sungrebe (Heliornis fulica)
Photo: P. Witt · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the sungrebe

Weight
125 g – 135 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
10.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.2 – 2.4src 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
Not recorded

Where does the sungrebe live?

Not recorded

What is the sungrebe?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The sungrebe or American finfoot (Heliornis fulica) is a small aquatic gruiform found in the tropical and subtropical Americas from northeastern Mexico to central Ecuador and southern Brazil.

The sungrebe is now the only species placed in the genus Heliornis that was erected by the French naturalist Pierre Bonnaterre in 1791 with the sungrebe as the type species. The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek hēlios meaning "sun" and ornis meaning "bird". The specific epithet fulica is Latin for "coot".

These waterfowl have broad lobes on their feet, convergent to that of grebes or coots, that they use to propel themselves in the water. They are reclusive birds, preferring well-covered slow-flowing streams and secluded waterways, sometimes swimming partly submerged, like an anhinga.

Sungrebes are unique among birds in that males have "pouches", folds of skin under their wings in which they carry their young from hatching until the chicks are able to swim for themselves. This has led to them being called "Marsupial Birds"; certain feathers, with their own musculature, serve as "guard rails" to prevent the baby from falling out.

From the Wikipedia article “Sungrebe” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sungrebe&oldid=1380706895), 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 sungrebe endangered?

The sungrebe 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 sungrebe classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGruiformes
  5. familyHeliornithidae
  6. genusHeliornis
  7. SpeciesHeliornis fulica (Boddaert, 1783)

Synonyms Colymbus fulica, Heliopais fulica, Heliornis fulicarius

Other names and names in other languages (56)
  • American finfootEnglish
  • غطاس الشمسArabic
  • زعنفي القدم الأمريكيArabic
  • heliorni americàCatalan
  • Heliornis americàCatalan
  • chřástalec malýCzech
  • aderyn asgelldroed AmericaWelsh
  • SvømmerikseDanish
  • Amerikansk SvømmerikseDanish
  • ZwergbinsenralleGerman
  • Zwerg-BinsenralleGerman
  • amerika grebraloEsperanto
  • PunpúnSpanish
  • Ave de Sol AmericanaSpanish
  • ave sol americanaSpanish
  • Avesol americanoSpanish
  • IpequíSpanish
  • Pájaro cantilSpanish
  • Pato CantilSpanish
  • ameerika redulindEstonian
  • بالهپنجه آمریکاییPersian
  • amerikanuikkukanaFinnish
  • Grébifoulque d'AmériqueFrench
  • Grébifoulque d’AmériqueFrench
  • YpekyGuarani
  • טבלן השמשHebrew
  • američki sunčacCroatian
  • TörpebúvárcsibeHungarian
  • Svassorallo americanoItalian
  • Rallo tuffatore americanoItalian
  • アメリカヒレアシJapanese
  • amerikinė skiautėtakojė vištelėLithuanian
  • kleine fuutkoetDutch
  • dvergsvømmerikseNorwegian
  • Gaito ZambuyadóPapiamento
  • perkołyska amerykańskaPolish
  • pequiPortuguese
  • ipequiPortuguese
  • marrequinhoPortuguese
  • mergulhadorPortuguese
  • mergulhãoPortuguese
  • mergulhão-solPortuguese
  • patinho-d'águaPortuguese
  • patinho-de-igapóPortuguese
  • pecaparaPortuguese
  • pecaparraPortuguese
  • picaparaPortuguese
  • picaparraPortuguese
  • Южноамериканский лапчатоногRussian
  • chriašteľovec pestronohýSlovak
  • Američki sunčani gnjuracSerbian
  • amerikansk simrallSwedish
  • Küçük BatağanyelvesiTurkish
  • лапчастоніг неотропічнийUkrainian
  • 日䴘Chinese
  • 日鷈Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the sungrebe

Other species in the same family Heliornithidae.

CR, Critically Endangered
Masked finfoot (Heliopais personatus)

Masked finfoot

Heliopais personatus

Heliornithidae

CompareSungrebe vs Masked finfootSungrebe vs African finfoot

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the sungrebe?

An adult sungrebe weighs 125 g – 135 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the sungrebe endangered?

The sungrebe 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 sungrebe?

The sungrebe (Heliornis fulica) belongs to the family Heliornithidae in the order Gruiformes.

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). Sungrebe (Heliornis fulica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sungrebe

MLA

“Sungrebe (Heliornis fulica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/sungrebe.

BibTeX
@misc{sungrebe_2026,
  title = {Sungrebe (Heliornis fulica)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/sungrebe},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}