Great Crested Grebe

The great crested grebe is the largest grebe of the Old World, 46–51 cm long with a wingspan of 59–73 cm and a weight of 0.9–1.5 kg. It has striking black, orange-brown and white plumage and a famous courtship display of synchronised dances. It is an excellent swimmer and diver and pursues its fish prey underwater. Birds resident in warmer tropical and subtropical regions keep breeding plumage almost all year. The call is a loud, barking rah-rah-rah (Wikipedia, general species account).

The clutch averages four chalky-white eggs, and both parents incubate, starting as soon as the first egg is laid. The cached account gives no detail specific to India. SoIB 2023 lists it as a resident and winter migrant of wetlands that eats vertebrates, rates it a High conservation priority, and gives a rapid long-term decline of about 72%, a current decline of about 4% a year and a Moderate range (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).