Australasian crested grebe.
Australasian crested grebe.
(Podiceps cristatus australis)
Crested grebes occur throughout Europe and central Asia, Africa, southern Australia and New Zealand. They also winter in parts of southern Asia. In New Zealand, crested grebes occur widely in the South Island but are extinct in the North Island (although occasional birds are seen there). They occur on up to 100 lakes from small tarns to large glacial lakes, with their strong holds in the Canterbury and Otago high country. They are rarer and have declined significantly in Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast and Fiordland, but have recently began nesting on the coast in Canterbury, where their numbers are increasing. They forage in a variety of shallow lakes, but require lakes fringed with rushes, sedges, reeds or willows to nest. Original public domain image from Flickr