Black-necked Grebe

The black-necked grebe, or eared grebe, was described in 1831. In breeding plumage it has distinctive ochre feathers extending behind the eye and over the ear coverts, the head, neck and breast black to blackish brown, the flanks tawny rufous to maroon-chestnut and the abdomen white. In non-breeding plumage it is greyish black above, including the top of the head and a vertical stripe on the back of the neck (Wikipedia, general species account).

It uses several foraging techniques, and insects, the majority of the diet, are caught on the water surface or in flight, with occasional foliage gleaning. It lays one, sometimes two, clutches of three to four eggs, sometimes more because of brood parasitism, and the eggs hatch after a 21-day incubation, after which the nest is deserted. SoIB 2023 lists it as a winter migrant and localised summer migrant of wetlands that eats invertebrates, and does not assign a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).